Welcome to The Faraway
by theghostRS
Summary: Annabelle has a normal, teenage life. But then, James moves into town. He has a secret. He won't touch anyone, and he seems quite taken with Annabelle, but she can't figure out what he is. And does she really want to know? NO VAMPIRES!
1. Preface

**A/N: This is my first fanfic, so you'll have to bear with me for a while! Please review! I don't care if it's mean, but I want to hear your feedback! Thanks!**

**R.S.**

_I ran down the hallway and stopped when I heard my name. "Annabelle!" A desperate voice came ringing around the hallway. I turned to where the voice came from, and quickly looked around my surroundings. I was in a dark hallway painted tan, and rugs that were maroon. It was an odd color palette, but I didn't focus on that. I felt like I didn't have time to. _

_I looked down to my outfit, and saw that I was wearing tan shorts, and a pink tank top with a grey, light sweater. I finally got to a large door, with big brass doorknobs. But it was locked. I frantically bent down looking for a way into the door. Something stabbed my leg, so I slipped my hand into my pocket. I produced a key that fit perfectly into the door. Right as I twisted it, the voice rang out again. "Don't Annabelle. It's a trick. Don't come in here!" _

_ The door swung open, to reveal an empty room. The room was long, really long. Unending. A single chair sat in the middle of the room. I took a step forward, and the chair slid back. I had no idea why it was sliding back or why I felt the impulse to get to the chair, but I continued stepping forward anyway. Suddenly, a man was sitting in the chair, bound by odd, glowing green rope. I couldn't make out his features, but what I could see, he looked troubled, and distressed. He shook his head and looked down to his hands in his lap. Despite me not knowing who this man was, I felt compelled to go help him, at least try. No, I really wanted to succeed. I took a step forward, but the chair slid back once again. _

_ I ran to the mystery man, until I couldn't run anymore. The room _was _unending. I collapsed in the middle of the floor, only to see figures advancing on me. I shut my eyes tightly, and when I estimated that their hands would be on me, all I felt was cold. I screamed._

I shot up off my pillow, and looked at the clock. It was time for me to get up, but I couldn't get the image out of my head of the poor man sitting on the chair, waiting for me to mess up. It was almost like he knew I was going to run to him, yet I didn't even know the guy. Shaking and crying lightly, I rolled out of bed, and got up to get ready for the day.

**So, there you go! My first chapter of this story! I will try to post often, if I get reviews, but I promise I won't give up on this story! Just review! I don't care if it's one word, or 100. Haha. Just review!**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi! So here is the first chapter! Going to post every week or so. Review, review, review. Maybe it will make me post faster. My friend is editing as we go, so this is also on her. Anyway, I hope you like the first chapter! It isn't very long, but I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: This story is all mine! Characters, events, and A/Ns are all mine! Please don't steal my story, I would be very unhappy with you! Just tell me if you wanna use it, and we can talk…**

** ~R.S.**

It was three weeks before school ended, and everyone was antsy for it to end. The warm May air was blowing through an open window, making the room hot, but I still kept my sweater on. I was sitting in English before the bell rang, waiting for class to start, and my best friend, Kat, was telling me a story about her younger sister. Kat babbled straight through the bell, since Mr. Johnson, our English teacher, was late, as usual. But I wasn't listening to Kat anymore. A cold chill had run through the classroom, and I looked up. It was strange. No one had seemed to notice, but I had. I pulled my sweater tight to my chest, but it provided no warmth. Kat was tapping me on the shoulder, but I shook it off, trying to figure out the problem with the temperature.

Then, _he _walked in.

Kat immediately stopped talking and looked straight at the guy that was walking straight towards us. Most everyone had stopped what they had been doing, and they were watching him approach. The guy was extremely handsome. He had perfectly tousled brown hair, and was wearing a light blue polo and designer jeans. His eyes were a shade of brilliant purple, and familiar, a little too familiar. His smile was welcoming, and beautiful. He stopped in front of Kat and me, and smiled. He looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. But I knew I had seen him before. The only problem was where I knew him from. Kat took a sharp breath, and then smiled back.

"Hello," he began in a perfect, seductive voice. "My name is James."

Kat held a hand out, and flipped her bright red hair. "Hi. I'm Katarina, but you can call me Kat, and this is Annabelle, and you can call her Annabelle," she said, laughing lightly at her lame joke she had used way to many times. James didn't shake her hand, or smiled, but she took no notice of it. He turned towards me, and I looked up at him.

"Hello, James," I said, trying to sound sweet, but something wasn't right with him. It was the voice that killed me. It sounded so close to something I knew. He didn't shake hands, and he didn't sit. All he did was stand there, watching us.

Kat broke her trance and turned towards me, and moved onto what she had wanted to talk to me about. "Anyway, Annabelle, would you please answer my question. I can't wait to hear it!"

I cleared my throat, and ran my hand through my hair. "Sorry, Kat, but you're going to have to repeat the question. I wasn't really listening before."

Kat's shoulders dropped and she sighed. "If Daniel Owens asked you out, would you say yes? Or, would you turn him down?"

I turned to look at Daniel, and watched as he tried to avoid watching as Rachel Matker threw herself at him. "I guess I would say yes, but it would never happen. I mean, come on. He could have Rachel Matker, so he would never ask me," I said.

"Oh please! That's crazy, Annabelle. You're gorgeous. If anyone has a fighting chance against Rachel for Daniel, it's you!" Kat said.

"Oh, thanks, Kat. But you too!" I said. We had had this conversation too many times, but I tried to stay focused on Kat, trying to ignore James' stare. James sat down in the empty desk next to me, and he whispered something, but it was unintelligible, and Kat took no notice of it, so I dismissed it.

About ten minutes later, Mr. Johnson hustled in and started his lecture on who know what. I had probably heard it before. Plus, it was hard to focus, when James was staring at me all class. When my eyes kept flicking towards him, his eyes would catch mine, and I would quickly look away.

After class, James was up, and out the door, before the bell had a chance to ring. Kat leaned over and whispered, "I have dibs on the new guy!" Kat squealed and I sighed and shook my head, and got ready to leave. I didn't really care, until I figured out who he was. As I was walking out of class, Kat turned to go to her P.E. class, while I turned for art.

James was in my art class as well. I was annoyed when I saw him sitting in the easel next to mine. I knew something wasn't right about him, but I couldn't place it. And now, he was invading my safe zone. Art was the only class I could show my true colors in, and now, James was here. The new kid. No, the strange new kid who I though I knew, yet I couldn't know him, and there was no way I did. I had never seen him before around town, and I would know since my mom was a police officer. I took a deep breath, and stepped into class.

I grabbed the charcoal pencils, and eraser I needed, and headed over to my easel. I pretended to take no notice of James. But a charcoal pencil had other plans for us. It slipped from my fingers, and rolled to a stop right next to James' shoe. He quickly, and gracefully, picked it up, and set it in my waiting hand. I mumbled a quick word of gratitude, and chuckled to myself about Kat calling dibs on him. As if I cared about James at all. I got to work on my drawing, and every so often, my eyes flicked towards James' easel.

His drawing was beautiful. It was dark, but you could tell what he was drawing. There was a face in the dark, star-filled sky, and though it was nearly transparent, you could tell it was there. And it was James. The face was James' face. It was strange and so accurate. And there was a girl looking up at the face. You could see her long hair, and that was it. But even so, the drawing was beautiful.

By the end of art, his drawing was finished. His hand had moved so swiftly over the paper. Compared to his drawing, mine looked like it was drawn like a two year old. But, compared to the rest of the class, we were the best artists.

I sat down next to Kat at our usual table, and she waved over James. Immediately, I wished she hadn't. Something wasn't right about James, and I didn't want Kat near him until I figured it out. But Kat liked him, so I didn't say anything.

James plopped his lunch tray down next to me, much to Kat's dismay. Luke, my other best friend, sat down next to Kat, and raised his eyebrows. "Kat, who's this?" Luke asked.

"I'm James," he said smoothly, before Kat could open her mouth. His voice was killing me, but I dismissed it for Kat.

"You're new? With only three weeks of school left?" Luke grinned, while stuffing his face with spaghetti. "Oh, yeah, I'm Luke," he continued, spraying the table with spaghetti sauce.

"Yes, but I'm certain that I can catch on quickly. Luke, was it?" James said, dismissing his food, pushing it away from himself.

"Where did you used to go?" Luke looked up at James, and gave a slight smile, but it was totally fake.

"Well, I used to live in Europe, so I highly doubt that you would recognize the name of my previous school."

"Where did-" Kat cut Luke off.

"That's enough, Luke. Stop asking your silly questions." She calmed down, and turned towards James. "Sorry about that. He's a little overprotective sometimes," Kat said flirtatiously.

"Don't worry about it, Kat," James said. He gave me a smirk, before turning back towards Kat. "I have to go finish my drawing in art. Would you like to join me, Kat?"

"Of course!" She bounced. They got up, and my fists clenched. I know James was only doing it to bug me, but I didn't know why. I know he knew I didn't like him. The only question was how and why.

"So," I turned back towards Luke. "What do you think of James?"

"He's okay, I guess. Kat really seems to like him. And it was funny how she reacted to my questions. But really, Annabelle, what does he have that I don't have?" Luke looked longingly towards where Kat had just left with James.

Luke had liked Kat since freshman year, when she was new at Davis High. I had become friends with Kat by nature, and Luke and I had been friends forever, so it was inevitable that Luke fell in love. But, even so, Kat didn't feel the same way. And Luke knew it, but he still had a right to have a crush on Kat. She was gorgeous. Red hair, green eyes, pink lips. Everything about her looked perfect and astonishing.

"Luke, he's new. He basically had mystery written on his forehead. Pretty soon the excitement of the new kid will wear off. Then, Kat will come back to us, and he'll probably be sucked into Rachel's group. Just wait a week, okay?" I reassured an agitated-looking Luke. Luke nodded, taking another huge bite of spaghetti, like any normal teenage boy would.

"Alright. I guess that makes sense. But it doesn't seem that James feels the same way towards Kat. Based on his smirks, it looks like he only does it to bug you. Do you know him from somewhere?" Luke looked expectantly at me.

"No, I don't know him from anywhere, at least I don't think so." Luke raised his eyebrows, and I shook my head, trying to figure it out in my head. "But I have noticed that. It seems that he likes me. Which puts us in quite a predicament."

"I know." I looked at Luke and he gave me a sympathetic look. I returned his gaze before focusing back on my food.

The next day wasn't any better, especially because I had had the nightmare again from the night before; a little different, yet still the same. I was leaning against my locker, waiting for Kat, and I was listening to my Ipod. Suddenly, someone was whispering to me. "What are you listening to?" I heard James' sultry voice say.

"If you really have to know," I said, turning towards James. He looked the same as he had yesterday. Perfect, brown tousled hair, and a green polo. And still really familiar. "I'm listening to John Mayer. Good enough for you?"

"Yes, but you don't need to be so hostile. I actually like John Mayer. Can I listen, as well?" James took a step closer, and our noses nearly touched.

"Wouldn't you rather listen with Kat?" I turned away from James, hoping he'd go away. But, to my disappointment, James stayed put, and kept speaking to me.

"Funny, Annabelle. But I don't actually like Kat like she likes me, so you can cut the crap, and-"

"Did you just use a word that a modern day teenager would use? You just moved up on my list, James." We both started laughing, but stopped when our art teacher rushed up, her face red, and animated.

"Oh, good! You both are together. I want you two to sketch a drawing for me. Well," Mrs. Ronalds waved her arms. "I want James to sketch something, and Annabelle to sketch something, obviously not the same sketch." She laughed lightly, as it if was funny, then continued. "Then, I'm going to choose one to submit to a national competition. Since you are the only good artists in my class, I'm only coming to you. Here are the rules." She handed us a piece of paper and I looked down at it. "I need the drawings on Monday. See you!"

Our art teacher walked away with a flourish, and I started to crumple the paper. But James' hands stopped mine before I could crumple the rules into a compact paper ball. James hadn't touched me at all, just the paper, and yet my eyes were drawn to his.

I stared up into his eyes, and he smiled. James slowly pulled the paper out of my hands, and began to smooth it down. Though the hallway was noisy, it seemed quiet to me. The way he looked at me was like he knew everything about me and yet he wanted to know more. His eyes were gorgeous, the richest purple color.

"Why would you do that?" James asked, half smiling, half twisting his lips, handing me back the paper. I reluctantly took back the newly smoothed paper, and looked up, avoiding his eyes.

"Well, considering you are such a great artist, I don't have chance against whatever you draw. So why should I try?" I asked.

"Because, Annabelle, depending on what I draw, you have a chance. Besides, you are an amazing artist." James paused for a moment, looking up at the clock hanging on the wall for the time, and then his eyes searching the crowd frantically. "I'll tell you what. When I'm finished with my drawing, I'll show it to you, and if you don't think you can win against me, I'll let you drop out, but for now, at least try," James said. I nodded in defeat, and James turned, but not before winking at me.

After James had disappeared into the crowd, I sighed. I had just been sucked into James' charms. This only made me wonder more about what was different about James. I was usually pretty good at not getting sucked into charm. Luke walked up behind me, and I turned. I tried to mask my suspicion, and slight nausea (I don't know why I was nauseous), but I did not succeed.

Before Luke could say a word, I thought back to everything I had done in the last month to figure out where I knew James from. I thought to the market, or the café where I used to work. I even thought around the mall. But James had said that he had just moved into town. After that, I realized that James wasn't from around town. I knew his voice from his desperate calls to me. I also knew him from him looking down. His eyes, his disheveled hair, the way he sat in chairs. Those restless nights I had had were because of James.

He was the guy from the nightmare.

"Annabelle, what's wrong?" Luke asked sweetly. I cleared my throat and tried a smile.

"Nothing, Luke. Don't worry about it," I said, opening my locker, trying to hide the truth from my best friend, knowing he wouldn't fall for it at all. He knew all of my lying strategies.

"Come on, Annabelle. We've been friends since pre-school. I know when you're lying, and you're lying now. So just tell me what's up." Luke sounded annoyed, so I gave in, but not completely.

"Mrs. Ronalds just gave me a sheet of rules for a national art competition, and I'm a little overwhelmed." Luke pulled me into a hug, and laughed.

"Although I know that isn't the only problem, congrats Annabelle! That really is fantastic. But what's the rest of it?"

"I'm up against James to see who's drawing is going to the competition. Luke, he's really good. So good, that I don't even stand a chance. His drawings are almost haunting. They really are amazing." I thought back to the drawing of the face and the girl. More specifically, James' face and the mystery girl. I nearly shuddered for some reason, but came back to Luke staring at me with a curious look on his face.

"And you want me to believe that that is the reason you are pale? I swear, Annabelle, if you were lying down, you could be dead." Luke laughed, not knowing that I felt dead, or just a little light headed.

"Yes, Luke, believe it. I'm just overwhelmed. And it is only the morning, so it can only go up from here, right?" I looked at Luke, and he nodded. Kat bounced up with her red hair pulled into a high ponytail.

Luke looked at Kat and smiled in a loving way, but poor, ignorant Kat overlooked it for a friendly look. Only I could see it. "Hello, Kat. You look happy this morning. What's different?" Luke asked.

"It's Wednesday, Luke. Only three days left until the weekend, which means there are only two and a half weeks of school left! Then, we are officially seniors!" Kat cried. "But, pasty over here is downing my vibe." Kat threw her thumb at me and Luke chuckled at her dramatization.

"I'm not that white, you guys!" I defended, but Kat and Luke just started to laugh.

"Annabelle, you could be a white crayon. But your color is starting to come back. Seriously, what freaked you out?" Kat pressed on, and I touched my cheeks.

"Okay. Kat, don't get mad. It was James," I said. Kat looked annoyed, but I continued anyway. "I just know something is off with that guy. And he was talking to me, and I could tell that something was strange about him. So I'm just a little freaked out."

"Plus, she's drawing for a national art competition," Luke butted in, proudly.

"One, congratulations. And two, you've known James for less than a day, so you can't judge him. And I know you. You hate new people, so give him a week and then you'll probably like him," Kat said.

"Thanks for the congratulations. And you're probably right about James. I just need time. See you guys later," I said through the bell. I walked away to history, and I shook my head. Little did Kat know, I knew James from a nightmare that I had had before I even knew him.

Though I knew Kat was probably right about James, there was still something nagging at me about the way he talked to me, and everyone else. I sat down in my chair in history, and watched as our history teacher bustled in.

History was boring, as usual, and I had zoned out before the teacher had said four words. I could faintly hear Rachel whispering to Daniel behind me, but I dismissed it. Unfortunately, I couldn't today. I guess I had too much stuff on my mind. I heard her whispering, and I know I heard Daniel tell her to stop. And yet, Rachel kept on whispering. I had to admire Daniel just a little because he hadn't punched Rachel yet. If it were me, I would have killed her. She was so clingy, and she wanted Daniel so much, but he didn't want her back.

The bell rang after fifty agonizing minutes of whispering and lecturing. I had art next, and I was dreading it. I walked down the hallway, slowly, inching my way to art class. I found myself wondering where James was and why he wasn't in the halls, but I pushed him out of my mind.

The first bell rang, and I was nearly there. Right before I walked in, James walked past me. He was close enough to touch me, but he didn't. It was strange. I don't think he had made any physical contact with anyone since he first started going here. No shaking hands, shoulder punches, or anything like that. Even when he stopped my hands from crumpling that paper that morning, he hadn't touched me. But I shook it off. It was probably just paranoia like Kat said.

I sat down at my easel, and eyed my drawing. It looked good. My eyes shifted towards James' drawing, and my jaw nearly dropped. He had completely changed the picture from the one I had seen only yesterday. Now, instead of just seeing the girl's hair, you could see a profile of her. But, there was no face, yet. It looked like he had erased it a couple of times, but there were still no features.

"Like it?" James' voice brought me back to the real world, and he was watching me with those eyes I knew all too well.

"Huh? Oh. Yes, I do like it. Aren't you going to draw a face?" I asked, not taking my eyes off of the drawing, afraid of seeing the sad man in his eyes. The nightmare came back to me every time I looked him in the face, and I couldn't handle that at school.

"I'm not sure yet. I can't really get the face right. It always, um, looks funny," James said. I could feel his eyes on me, but I didn't make eye contact.

"Why?"

"Faces aren't really my forte, Annabelle. They always look too much like one person, recently. So, I try to avoid them as much as possible."

"I see." I looked down to the pencils in my hand, and put them on the edge of my easel. James' eyes followed every move I made. I turned to my drawing, and got to work, hoping he would too. And eventually, he did, his hand moving so quickly, it was a blur. Not that I was watching or anything. I did try not to watch, but the way his hand blurred across the page was beautiful to me.

Lunch was the same as it had been on Tuesday. Kat flirting with James, shamelessly, and him flirting back, shamelessly as well. Then, they left together, leaving Luke and me alone. "I'm starting to get tired of him," Luke said, nodding in James' direction.

"Um, yesterday you said he was okay," I said.

"Yeah, but you also said that Kat would stop being so into him, and _that _didn't happen," Luke said, looking up at me accusingly.

"I said to give it a week, and it's been 24 hours. So, don't get mad at _me_," I said. Luke surrendered, and sighed. The only thing was, could I give James a week? I knew him from a nightmare, and I didn't know him well enough to know why.

"Alright, fine. That's fair enough."

"Thank you. Can we go, now? I need to talk to my math teacher, really quickly," I asked Luke.

"Sure, let's go."

**Review! Please? I would really appreciate it! I hope you enjoyed chapter 1 of Welcome to The Faraway. BTW, I'm not really sure on the name, so just let me know if you have a better one. Thanks!**

** ~R.S.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hey! So, here is chapter 2 of Welcome to The Faraway! Hope you enjoyed the last one. I also hope you enjoy this one. This one is kind of thick with info so you hafta bear with me ... haha so anyway, please review when you finish! It really helps me keep on going. Also, if you like vampires, but not twilight, check out my friend, Bellemort2432, and read Stolen Fangs: it's wayyyy good, and I'm not one for vamps.**

**Disclaimer: My story! Please don't take it. I would appreciate it! And if you want to use some of it, just let me know and we can talk. Thanks!**

**~R.S.**

It was last period Friday, finally, and I was antsy. To me, the week had taken forever, too long, even. I wanted to get home to work on my drawing. I didn't know when, but James was coming around on Saturday, and I wanted to be done with my drawing. I was walking out of English, alone, when James was suddenly beside me. He was in my class, so it made sense, but I hadn't seen him get up or walk out of class at all. I figured he would walk away, so I continued walking.

I was out in the parking lot, when I realized that I wasn't going to shake James. Even so, I kept walking towards my car. When I got there, I swiveled to face James. He smiled, and I raised my eyebrows, seeing the purple eyes I knew only too well.

"Did you need something?" I asked, putting my hand on my hip.

"I was just wondering what time you wanted me to arrive at your house tomorrow?" James asked, his voice smooth and soothing, relaxing me immediately from the two long weeks ahead. He was looking at me with those eyes again. But they were different from the nightmare. They were soft here, whereas in the nightmare, his eyes were full of sadness and anger.

"Oh, right. How is ten o'clock?" I asked.

"That sounds fine."

"Okay, see you then." I turned, but he cleared his throat. "Was there something else?" I asked, annoyed at his staring. James smiled and I nearly collapsed. When he did show pure happiness, James was really mesmerizing.

"No, I was simply clearing my throat," James said.

"Sure, okay. Bye now." I turned again, ignoring how sexy James looked in his cut-offs and plain white polo.

_ No, no, no!_ I thought, looking at myself in the review mirror. _You have to stay separated from him, at least until you figure out how you knew him before he even arrived, or at least how you had seen him in the nightmare before he moved here. _

I drove home, and then set my alarm for nine in order to have enough time to get ready, and look presentable. I went to bed early since my mother wouldn't be home until late. She would leave early, so I wouldn't have to worry about James coming over.

The alarm beeping rescued me from my nightmare. I sat up, shaking, and nearly dripping in sweat. But now that I was awake, I realized that the more I got to know James, the more I cared for him in the nightmare. I leaned back on my pillow, trying the shake the awful nightmare, and closed my eyes, not meaning to fall back asleep.

_Ding-dong. Ding-dong._ The doorbell rang twice before I realized that I had fallen back asleep. I ran down the stairs to the front door. I looked down at my baby blue tank-top and my navy blue sweats, pulled up to my knees, and shrugged my shoulders. Who really cared about James anyway? As I approached the door, I realized that I cared about James, no matter how much I tried to talk myself out of it.

I opened the door, and James waved. "Hello," James said in his flawless voice. I gestured for him to come in, and he gave me a once-over. James smiled, and then stepped into my living room. He was wearing jean shorts and a simple white t-shirt, exactly what he was wearing in the nightmare. I swallowed hard, and met his eyes. James uncovered his drawing, smiling, and I turned to look at it.

I gasped, and James smiled.

The drawing was of a girl in the midst of many faceless people. She was the only person who had a face. Her hair reached down to her waist, and it was wavy, yet still sort of straight. And her lips were perfect, and her nose was beautiful. But her eyes scared me a little, in that they were mine, but the rest of the body wasn't, it was too perfect. I looked at James, and he looked back expectantly, his eyes sparkling in the sunlight that was pouring through the windows.

"Is that, James, is that me?" I asked, stumbling over my words. Her eyes were exactly like mine, even though they were in black and white, they were still haunting me.

"Yes. Do you mind?" James asked, covering the drawing back up, I guess to preserve its greatness.

"I guess not. It's just extremely accurate, and why did you decide on me?" I looked up at him.

"I don't really know." James held out his hand, and smiled. "But hey, let the best man win this competition."

The next events were a blur of confusion. James's eyes closed, and I shook his out held hand, glad that he was being such a gracious opponent, even though I knew he had already won. Moments later, James fell backwards onto my couch, paler than usual and his arm draped across his eyes. It looked like he wasn't even breathing.

"James? James!" I called. "James, are you okay?" I am frantic, fluttering around him worriedly, not knowing how to help.

"Just… need some… water." He gasps, but then it seems as though he has stopped breathing again. I nod, but vaguely remember he cannot see me through closed eyelids.

Running, nearly sprinting to my kitchen, I fill up a cup with tap water and rush it back to him. He guzzles it down ravagely. I sit, watching him. What had happened to cause this?

"James? Are you okay?" I ask him after watching him quietly for a few minutes.

He sits up, seeming a nervous about something as he runs a shaking hand through his brown tousled hair. "I guess it's time to tell you what is different about me."

From there, nothing about him was simple again.

"And now you know everything." James had finished his story, and I looked up at him, a million questions brewing inside me. There was one specific one, the nightmare, but I could never ask that, at least for right now.

"So, you're a ghost?" I asked, not really believing his story.

"Not a ghost per say. We are called Immortal Ghosts. It is kind of weird, but now you know why I can't make physical contact with anyone, and I won't, for now," James said.

"Immortal Ghost?"

"Yeah. We can disappear like ghosts, yet we are not quite ghosts. To answer your probable next question, you become an Immortal Ghost when you have a near death experience. You see, when you are about to die, unless someone kills you, you have a choice. Before you go to the other side, you have to walk through a deep forest. But it isn't dark, it's light, and beautiful." James took a deep breath, checking my face, and continued to tell me all about the Immortal Ghosts. "We all call it The Faraway. However, if you linger in The Faraway too long, you live. That is what happened to all of us. But you have to linger. It is painful, watching everyone else leave, but there was so much to explore, so I lingered."

"Two questions. One, who is we?" I interjected.

"The others that lingered in The Faraway."

"The other Immortal Ghosts," I concluded. "Next question, how did you, I mean, uh, how did you become an Immortal Ghost?"

"I was in my bedroom, and my parents were probably asleep. I was too. That is when the fire started. I never found out how, or why, but it happened. I was living at home for personal reasons, but that doesn't matter. And I didn't get out in time. Neither did my parents. We all, um, burned alive," James said. He swallowed hard, and continued with his explanation. "I was nineteen. We were in The Faraway when I smelled the sweetest smell in the world. While my parents passed to the Light, I stayed. They gave me a slight smile, and then that was the last time I saw them. It felt weird, watching my parents leave me alone like that. But then, I felt really awesome. I felt enlightened. After a little while, this other Immortal Ghost, Averie, led me into the part of The Faraway that some of the Ghosts live in. It is even more beautiful than The Faraway towards the Light. But, I decided to come back to earth before I could never go back again."

I cradled my knees to my chest, and looked at James. His story was too complex to be made up, so I pressed on for details. "So, how many of you are there?" James rubbed the back of his neck.

"I don't really know. But a lot. When you first become an Immortal Ghost, you cannot control your powers, which is why you live in The Faraway for a while. It is hard for me to stay Solid because of that. Some Ghosts stay Solid all day, but then they have to Rejuvenate themselves."

"Rejuvenate?"

"As you have seen, it takes a lot of energy to go Solid. So, all we have to do is touch a Mortal, or another Ghost, and we have all of our energy back."

"Prove it. I'm having a hard time believing all of this," I said.

"Fine, come here." James stood up, and I crossed the room to him. He held out his hand, and I raised mine slowly, afraid of the hyperventilating again. His fingers inched towards mine, and I was a little scared, not knowing what to expect. After a moment, he rushed his hand forward. It hit my hand, and joined into it for a moment, and then he separated it.

James looked his normal self, but I felt tired. I had expected to collapse, but I just felt tired. And that was it. I went back to my chair, and hugged my knees to my chest again.

"And that, Annabelle, is Rejuvenation," James said. I gave him a look, and he held up his hands. "You told me to prove it, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I guess I did," I said, but still pressed on for details of his life. "Why do you still go to school? You seem so smart," I continued to grill James. He laughed, but James' face soon went solemn as if this was a touchy subject for him. He ran a hand through his hair, before meeting my eyes.

"Promise not to get angry?" I nodded, not knowing what to expect. "When Immortal Ghosts see someone, and this is very rare, they sometimes are able to Possess them for a short while, maybe a minute. In this, the Immortal Ghost knows everything about the person. All of their flaws, perfections, fears, weaknesses, and strengths. Because everything is revealed, we call it Possession. So, Kat-"

I groaned, and James stopped talking. "Did you 'Possess' Kat?"

"No. Let me finish next time. Kat called dibs on me, I have good hearing, so I can hear it all. But, I already knew that wouldn't really work out. Okay, now it's my time for questions." I gave him a look wanting to know more about the Possession, and James smiled nervously. "This ties in, I promise. How did you feel the first morning I was at school?" James looked at me and raised his eyebrows.

"I felt fine. Except for this one moment in the parking lot. I was walking to catch up with Kat and Luke, but I got this really weird headache. But I shook it off, thinking-" I stopped mid-sentence, finally knowing what James was letting on. I looked up at James and he gave me a sympathetic half-smile. I wanted to scream and yell, but his look kept me from doing it.

"Look, Annabelle, it _is_ really rare. I wasn't expecting it to happen to me. It almost never happens. I know this must be scary for you, but please try to understand. Or, think about it from my position. I mean, this-" I looked up at James, and held my hand up. He crossed the room over to me, and stood in front of me, his eyes sympathetic and knowing.

"No, James, I understand. Really. It's fine." But I didn't understand, and it wasn't fine, and I hesitated to say so. "Well, actually, it's not really fine, and I don't really understand it. How could this happen? And what does this mean now? For you." I hesitate before continuing. "And me?"

"I don't know how it happens, Annabelle, to be honest. It just does, and no Ghost can really explain it. And it means that I," James faltered, running his hand through his hair again, and continued. "will always stand by you. I'll always know you better than anyone could, or can. For you, it means that you won't be able to get rid of me, and you will eventually," James hesitated. "Nevermind. It just means that I know you better than anyone could."

"So, what are we going to do now?"

James looked down at me and smiled. "We?" He raised an eyebrow, and leaned in closer to me.

"Considering you have, what, Possession of me, we should figure out what to do."

"Before _we _do anything, you have to promise me one thing. Promise me that you'll give _us_ a try. You know, since I kind of know you well," James said. He looked at me, expectantly.

"One, you just asked me on a date didn't you?" James shrugged at my question, and then nodded. "Okay… Two, how am I supposed to date you if I can't even touch you?" I asked. I crossed the room to the window, and he followed. I could hear him breathing behind me, but I couldn't feel it. I guess I had to get used to it, him being partially dead and all.

"I can work on my Solid, but still, we can have fun together. Plus, there is this trick, and it isn't really hard to do. Annabelle, please tell me you are willing to try it." James crossed in front of me, making me look at him.

"We can try it. I'm still getting used to this thing, James. It's really strange, you know?" He nodded, but had a spark of hope in his eyes. "Fine, but, can we do it in secret? I just want to stay friends wit Kat, and she still likes you for now, so can we keep it secret for a while?"

"Of course, Annabelle. Whatever you want." I nodded and it was silent for a moment as I looked in James' eyes and he looked back. Then, he shook his head and broke eye contact. "So, back to the real reason that I'm here. Are you going to drop out of the competition?" James asked, shaking the date topic, relaxing me a little, but not all of the way.

"Nope."

"Can I see your drawing?"

"Nope."

"Fine." James stepped in closer, and he took a deep breath. "Wednesday then. At 7 o'clock. We'll go out to dinner." He started to walk away, but I meant to grab his arm, but forgetting, I Passed Through him. I took a sharp breath in, and James turned. It was cold, I was cold. "Oh no. Oh no. Annabelle, sit down right now. Annabelle. Annabelle!"

Everything went black, and there was the sensation of falling.

Something was fanning me, and someone was breathing heavily. I shivered. It was still cold, and so was I. I started to regain some of the feeling in my body. I opened my eyes. James was leaning over me, and as soon as he saw me, he let out a breath of air. I tried to sit up, but the stern look in James' eyes kept me down.

"The first Pass Through is always the worst. You get used to it after awhile. Trust me, Annabelle. It is just the cold that is the worst. My body is below freezing right now. Well, always," James said.

"I'm sorry. I forgot. It's so easy to forget that you are some sort of, um, Ghost. I forgot that I couldn't touch you. I'm sorry. Sorry, sorry, sorry." My words faded, and I ran my fingers through my hair.

James smiled, and began to chuckle. "I just made you pass out, and you're the one saying sorry. Really Annabelle, you are too good with this Immortal Ghost thing." I sat up, making myself light-headed, but I stayed up anyway.

"What was it that you were talking about before? You know, about the Solid thing. How you could touch me without going Solid." I pressed on with my questions, not caring about the Passing Through stuff, trying to forget it, but remember it for later.

"All I have to do is put a small blanket of energy between us. That will keep us separated, yet, it will still feel like I am human, not an Immortal Ghost," James said.

"Will you be warm?"

"I don't know. I've never actually tried it before. This is my first time back on Earth since my death. I'll practice with it, and I'll show you one day."

"Okay." I looked at the clock. "Crap, it's 3 o'clock. I was out for over three hours?" I asked.

"Yes. I told you that the first Passing Through is the worst. I told you this would be hard."

"Well, my mom won't be home for another nine hours or so. So, if you want, you can stay." James smiled as if he knew I was going to ask him to stay.

"I'd like that, thank you. I would like to make sure you feel okay before I leave." James watched as I struggled to get up. We headed into the kitchen, and I made myself a cup of tea. I offered one to James, but he waved it off.

We sat for most of the rest of the day talking about Immortal Ghosts, and Averie, the girl who helped James with his first couple years as an Immortal Ghost. I enjoyed getting to know James better, since he already knew everything about me.

At about six thirty, after James had told me everything I could think of to ask, he left, saying he couldn't wait to see my drawing, and for our date on Wednesday. I couldn't stop thinking about everything I had just learned about James. Immortal Ghosts, The Faraway, Pass Throughs, Solid, and the thin line of energy. Now that I knew more about James, the more he excited me. And, the more I understood about him, the more relaxed I felt around him. And every time I thought of him I smiled and bit my lip.

The rest of the weekend for me was boring. I was home alone most of the time, and so I had nothing to do. My mom was never home when I was awake, so I was mostly alone. On Sunday morning, I looked at my drawing, and ripped it up. There was no way that I could beat James with that. I closed my eyes, and put the pencil to the paper. I just started to draw, and soon enough it was done.

As soon as I was in the hallway in school, I rushed to the art room only to find James already there. I smiled, and placed my drawing on the table. He crossed and placed his hand on the table, eyeing the cloth covering the drawing. Before I could react to James, his hand pulled the cloth off. I expected him not to have a human reaction since he didn't have to hide from me anymore, but his hand moved to his mouth. I looked at the drawing, and felt proud.

"Annabelle, you're drawing is heavenly. Better than mine. But, what is it?" James asked, looking at me.

"It is The Faraway. You know, I tried to see how it looked like when you were there. I just went off of my memory of you telling me, so you know, I drew it." I looked up at James, and he put his finger to his lips. He turned to the door right as the teacher walked in.

"Good, you both are here. Annabelle, is this your drawing? It is really good. Even the technique is great. James?" The art teacher turned towards James, trying to rush through this, as she usually did, and he put his drawing on the table next to mine. When he uncovered the drawing, both Mrs. Ronalds and I gasped.

Like me, he had changed his drawing. It wasn't me in a faceless crowd anymore. It was me, fading away into The Faraway. Mrs. Ronalds didn't know that, but I did. I looked at James and he mouthed a quick _Later_ at me. Mrs. Ronalds looked up at James, and smiled.

"Sorry, Annabelle, but James' drawing is very beautiful. Your drawing is good, but his is better. James, can I enter this?"

"Of course, Mrs. Ronalds," James smiled at Mrs. Ronalds, and then looked at me. Mrs. Ronalds left the room, and he stepped towards me. "Watch this, Annabelle." James stepped towards me and grabbed my hand. He actually grabbed my hand. I was surprised at him, since the last time I almost touched him, I blacked out. I looked up at him skeptically. "Look closer," James explained, a broad smile crossing his face. I looked closer at our joined hands, and saw a thin line of light, neon green color.

"What is that?" I asked, looking up at James, trying to take in his hand touching mine. "It feels like skin is actually touching mine, but, what is the green line? Is this what you were talking about working on? You know, at my house on Saturday?"

"Yes. It is. It is called Matter." I groaned, and James looked at me, still smiling.

"So much vocabulary to learn for you." I chuckled a little, and James squeezed my hand,

"Annabelle, you know, this is why I'm so positive that we will work out, please, just give it-"

"Wait. I said I was willing to try this, I mean, us. But you have to answer me one question. Why did you draw me fading away into The Faraway?" I pressed, and he sighed, leaning against a wall.

"Averie is in town for a little while. She said that before she left The Faraway, she saw a glimpse of the future. That happens sometimes in The Faraway. And she saw you in The Faraway, by where the Light is. I figured I could draw you fading, rather than solid. You looked better that way."

"How did she know it was me?"

"You know how I told you that some Immortal Ghosts have 'special' powers?" I shook my head. "I didn't? Humph. Anyway, Averie can tell how she is connected to people, and run really fast, but that doesn't really matter. And so she came to me. I just thought that the drawing was better than my other one. I hope you're not mad."

"Of course I'm not mad. But hey, I hope I get a chance to meet Averie. I want to meet the girl who helped you relive your life." I smiled at James, and he smiled back. "But hey, I'll see you in a little while. We have English, don't forget." James winked and I smiled.

I disconnected from James, and left him in the art room. It was strange. He drew _me _in The Faraway. Does that mean I was dying, or I was just there? It freaked me out a little. But James always meant the best. It seemed that every time I was with James, I liked him so much more. Unfortunately, I couldn't show it around Kat. Luckily, I somehow avoided her until lunch. So, I spent most of the day waiting for lunch, and how James was going to act. Especially since he told me about the whole Possession thing, which still freaked me out a little, since I was the victim of it.

**Hey! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Review. Please? I would realllly realllllyyyy love it if you could just tap that little button and write a short review. Don't care if it's mean or nice. I would just like to hear some feedback. Keep me posted, and so will I. I'll try to post soon. I'm working on Chapter 3, but be patient. Review, please! Thank you!**

**~R.S.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Alright, so here's the thing. I want to keep posting this, I really do. But I'm not so sure if I want to if no one is going to review. I'll make a deal with you. If you give me ONE review, I'll post the next chapter. K? One word would do if anything…**

**BTW, this chapter is kind of long and a LOT goes on… So, enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: This story is all mine. If you want to borrow it, you can, but you'd hafta review first, haha.**

**~R.S.**

"Hey Luke. What's wrong?" I asked him as I sat down across from him in my normal spot.

"I think Kat still likes that James guy. What about you? How do you feel about him?" Luke asked. He looked at me, wanting me to sympathize.

"Well, he is okay. His drawings are _amazing_. But I'm sorry for you, Luke, really. It must be killing you." I was being sarcastic, but Luke took it seriously.

"It is, Annabelle. Speak of the devil, and he will appear," Luke said, right as James walked up. He sat beside me, and gave both of us a smile. Kat followed soon after, and I was expecting her to be her usual, bubbly, flirty self. But I was wrong. She was still bubbly, but she wasn't flirting with James like she had the week before.

"Hey guys," Kat said, barely glimpsing at James. "Guess what?"

"What?" I asked.

"I got asked to prom! Me! I got asked. Pretty insane, right?" Kat was overjoyed now.

"By whom, may I ask." Luke said, through clenched teeth.

"Matt Rogers, if you must know." Kat took no notice of Luke's tone, and smiled at me. Matt was the kind of guy who only went out with if you, or he, were desperate. And Kat was. "I know what you're thinking, Annabelle. But stop. It isn't like that. He really likes me. We went out to dinner on Saturday, and we really hit it off." I pressed my lips together and nodded towards Kat.

"Okay," I said. I looked at Luke. He looked sad, but kind of content that Kat was going to prom with someone lower on the high school totem pole than him. I almost laughed at Luke's face as he silently rejoiced.

"I don't know who that is, Kat. You will have to point him out to me sometime," James said smoothly.

"Look, Luke, Kat, James, I'm going into art to work on my drawing. Does anyone want to come? No, okay." I dismissed myself and left the lunchroom, without eating a bite of food, leaving Luke alone with Kat and James.

I walked the halls, but didn't go to art. I had to figure out what to do about James, and Kat. I felt light headed with all the problems, rather issues, swimming around in my head.

I opened my locker and sighed. I threw my books into my locker. I didn't need any of them. My last two classes were art and chorus, so I didn't need books for those. After I thought about what had happened in the last couple of days, I felt like fainting. It was warm enough outside that there was no one in the halls, but me. Slumping against the lockers, I ran my hand through my hair.

"Annabelle, are you okay?" I heard James' smooth voice say, quietly.

"Yes, I'm fine," I said, looking up at James. He looked sad for me, as if he knew what I was going through. I knew this wasn't the case, since no one could ever know what was going on with me.

"No, you're not. I know you're not. Hey, I know this is a lot to take in. I know this must be hard for you. Please, just try. For me. Please, Annabelle." James sat down beside me. He sounded desperate, a sound I never thought I could hear from his voice. But his eyes were soft, trying to see into my mind, and figure out what I was feeling and thinking.

"Okay." I surrendered.

"Hey," James grabbed my hand, and I focused in on the Matter between us. It was bright green, and it pulsed against my skin in a hypnotic way. "I'll find a way to stay Solid. Or the Matter-" I closed my eyes and James stopped his talking. I tried to say this as nicely as I could, but I couldn't always do it.

"Look, I know. You've said it before. James, I told you I was willing to go out with you, and you should calm down. James, please, give me a few days to soak it in. I just found out that you almost died. And that you are basically dead. So, please." James let go of my hand, and put it his in his lap.

"Okay, I get it. Just please don't be so hostile about it. I tried my best to keep it from you, but the Possession won't let me stay away from you." James looked at me, and helped me up. "Now, why don't we actually go to art, and we can work on our drawings together." James smiled and I looked down to my feet. I nodded and let James lead me to art.

All through art class, James kept sparking Matter. I guess he was practicing. He was good at it too. In one instant, he had the Matter up his arm. I looked around, but luckily, there was no one who had seen. Even if they had, I don't think they would have noticed, since it was so thin, and light that you would only notice if you were actually looking for it.

My evening was boring, considering my mother wasn't going to be home until about one in the morning. The only thing that got me through Monday and Tuesday was the thought of having dinner with James on Wednesday.

Finally, it was Wednesday at six o'clock. James was coming in an hour, so I was sitting on the couch waiting for James. All of that Saturday morning kept replaying over and over in my mind. Especially the Passing Through part. It felt like being trapped in a freezer for a week, but it was only for a split second. After that, I only remember darkness.

By the time I had come out of my 'blast from the past' it was seven. And, right on time, James was knocking on the door. I got up, and checked myself in the mirror for no reason. I had chosen to wear dark jeans and a plain white v-neck. I was wearing my hair down, the way I usually had it, but at the last minute, I pulled my hair up.

I opened the door, and James was standing there, perfectly composed. We exchanged greetings, and then James walked me to his car. Once we were both situated in the car, James started driving down the road. After about a half an hour, I got a weird feeling, since we were out of town, and I had no idea where we were. I realized I barely knew this guy, and he could be lying to me about everything.

"So, where are you taking me?" I asked, turning towards James.

"A surprise," James said. His eyes glinted in the streetlights.

"Okay." It didn't seem like James was going to tell me where we were going, so I dropped the subject, my fear gone. James just seemed to reassure me for some reason.

He kept on driving, not bothering to explain himself. After another fifteen minutes, James turned down a lane. He stopped on a long driveway, and parked the car by a garage. Through the darkness, I couldn't see what was beyond the garage. James opened my car door, and watched me get out of the car. I followed him to door, and he opened it, the light nearly blinding me from the quick change from dark to light.

"Sorry. The living room is always the brightest room in the house. I keep meaning to fix that," James explained.

"This is where you live?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"Yes. I didn't want to go anywhere someone from school would be. Plus, you said you wanted to meet Averie, so I thought that we should come here." James gestured for me to come into the house. I stepped into the living room, and once my eyes had adjusted to the bright room, I was surprised.

It looked like a normal living room. There was a flat screen, a couple of couches, a bookshelf, a chair, a table, and some paintings. It was the paintings that captured my attention. They were all old, famous paintings. I pointed at them and opened my mouth, but James shook his head.

"No. They are knock-offs. Just in case someone comes that I don't want to know about me."

"Oh."

"James!" I heard someone squeal. I'm guessing it was Averie because after you heard her, you saw her. And Averie was a sight to see. If I hadn't known she was an Immortal Ghost, I would have thought she was a model. Her blonde hair was pulled into a tight ponytail, and she was absolutely gorgeous. I had seen her before, but I didn't know where. It felt like when I first met James, but this time it was different, almost like I was afraid of her. Averie pulled James into a hug. I looked for the Matter between them, but I couldn't see it. "Oh my god. How rude. You must be Annabelle. I'm Averie." Averie held out her hand, and when I shook it, I saw the Matter.

"I know. I've heard a lot about you," I said, wondering about the Matter.

"And you as well." Averie winked at James like she was telling him she approved of me. She linked arms with him, and he patted her arm like he was telling her to back off a little.

"May I ask you two a question?" They nodded, so I continued. "How come you don't have to have Matter between you guys?"

"You didn't tell her?" Averie asked James.

"No, I guess I forgot. It isn't really important for a Mortal to know about, you know?" James looked at me and smiled sheepishly.

"Immortal Ghosts can touch other Immortal Ghosts like Mortals can touch each other, while Immortal Ghosts have to have Matter between themselves and Mortals," Averie explained.

"That makes sense," I said, but it didn't. A lot of things didn't make sense to me since I had met James.

"Look, I'm hungry, and I'm sure your hungry, Annabelle. And Averie? Yes, okay. Let's go eat," James said. He grabbed my hand, and I focused in on the Matter.

We walked in silence to the kitchen, and then James stopped me right outside. He took my shoulders in his hands, and I felt the Matter on my shoulders. "Look, Annabelle. Averie thinks I'm going to figure out how to kill you so you can become an Immortal Ghost and I don't have to practice my Matter. That is why she might refer to it, or act weird around you."

"She thinks, that, but, um, why would she think that?" I stuttered. Would James ever want to kill me? Would he ever want to actually touch me so badly that he would kill me just to do so?

"I told you she saw you, right? Well, now she thinks since I have Possession, that I want you to be an Immortal Ghost. But I would never do that to you. Really, just ignore Averie, Annabelle."

"Okay, I understand. But we will come back to this subject," I said, standing my ground.

"I know. Let's go. I'm hungry." James led me into the kitchen to reveal Averie cooking something fabulous. It already smelled amazing and we had only been out for five minutes.

"Okay. How does Chicken Parmesan sound?" Averie asked.

"That sounds fine. Thank you, Averie," I said.

I helped make dinner, but barely. James and Averie were so nimble in the kitchen. All I really did was stir the sauce. After only about a half an hour, the dinner was on the table. James sat beside me, and I mean right beside me, while Averie sat across from us. Most of the meal was in silence, until I looked up, wanting to hear more about The Faraway.

"Um, Averie? Would you mind if I asked you a little about The Faraway?" I asked. I felt James shift in his chair, but Averie simply smiled like she was expecting me to ask the question.

"Of course not, Annabelle." She put down her fork. "It is the most beautiful place you have ever been. Most Immortal Ghosts live there because they aren't ready to face Mortals again. But, if you don't live there, and you visit too much, it is addicting. I only come out of The Faraway to visit James and to check in on some of the others that live here. Well, not here, but you know what I mean." Averie paused, took a bite, and then continued. "There are also, I guess you could call them schools. They teach some of the Immortal Ghosts to have certain, uh, powers. Well, all Immortal Ghosts have powers, but the others have different ones. We call them Knaves. They sometimes revolt against the others, or pit against them, rather us. That is one of the reasons I like to get out of there every once in a while. It can get a little stressful sometimes."

"Okay, Averie. Time to change the subject. I think that Annabelle has heard enough for a while," James said, during one of Averie's bite breaks. Averie almost made a face, but decided against it at the last minute.

"Fine. Just one more question," I said. James reluctantly nodded. "If you can't touch Mortals, how come you touch objects, like clothes, or the floor, or a fork? And how can you eat food?" I asked.

"Well, humans are flesh and blood, while other objects are metal, or cloth, or, with food, I guess you could say that our stomachs are lined with Matter. Some Immortal Ghosts don't even eat actual food, they simply drink things. Plus, some Immortal Ghosts don't eat at all," James said.

I nodded, finishing my food. Averie and James finished around the same time I did, and since I was done with my questions, it was pretty much silent. But a question was aching to get out, so eventually it just came out.

"Do Knaves ever come out of The Faraway?" I asked. James sighed, and Averie perked up. She loved getting to answer the questions and get the attention from James and me.

"Sometimes. But only when there is a serious problem between them and another Immortal Ghosts. Once you are a Knave, you cannot touch Mortals at all," James explained.

"Okay, okay. Now I am really done with my questions," I said. I leaned back in my chair. James looked at Averie and nodded. She smiled, and then she cleared her plate.

"Annabelle, it was lovely to meet you, but I have to get back to The Faraway. Tonight. Or I might not ever go back. This place is addicting to me. So, I really enjoyed talking to you. And I will see you soon, I'm sure," Averie said.

"You as well, Averie," I said. Averie left the room, and I heard her walk out of the house. "Did you ask her to leave telepathically?" I turned towards James, my eyebrows raised.

"No, this place is really addicting to her. She wasn't going to stay after tomorrow anyway," James said. I nodded, and James put his hand on my leg, the Matter pulsating between us. "Come on, I'll show you the rest of the house."

James led me out of the kitchen, and into the living room again, but this time, we went into a different doorway. We walked down a hallway, but I stopped James by stopping myself.

"What is it, Annabelle?" James asked. He stepped close to me. I could hear his breath, but as usual I couldn't feel it.

"What did Averie mean, all Immortal Ghosts have powers?" I asked.

"Well, Averie can run really fast, and I have a form of telekinesis," James said.

"A _form_ of telekinesis?"

"Well, I can move things with my mind. Everything. Even humans. Watch." James took a few steps back and then stared at me. Pretty soon, I was sliding along the floor towards James. But it looked like he had stopped, yet I was still moving. James looked like he was worried, but I slid right through him.

Again, there was cold, and then there was darkness.

"Hey, it was only one and a half hours this time," James said. I touched my forehead, still feeling a kind of ice cream headache. He watched me sit up, and then he laughed.

I looked at him, annoyed. "Oh yes, my pain is something to laugh about, James." He continued to laugh, and I gawked at him.

"It isn't your pain, Annabelle. Trust me. It's just that I forget that mortals are so much weaker than Immortal Ghosts are. Instead of stopping, you just keep sliding. I just have to get used to it," James said.

"Yeah, me too." I got up, and said, "Okay, you've made your point about the telekinesis thing. Show me the rest of the house." I got up, and James wrapped his arm around me. I could feel, and see the Matter between us.

James led me down the hall again, and this time we made it to the doors. The first door revealed a guest room, as did the next one. But the door at the end of the hall revealed something entirely different. It was a room filled with musical instruments. There were guitars, a drum set, a piano, wind instruments, and string instruments.

"Whoa," I said. James looked at me and laughed. I looked up at him and he gestured to the room.

"Just stuff I've collected over the years. Yes, if you're wondering, I play every single instrument in this room. Just skills I've acquired since you know, The Faraway." James picked up a guitar, and strummed a few notes. "Want to hear me play?" I shook my head, so James put down the guitar. He pulled me close, and I could feel the Matter throbbing between us.

He pulled me closer, and closer, until I was sure I was going to Pass Through him. But I didn't. I could feel and see the Matter between us. James leaned towards me. I wanted to stop him, but I couldn't. I couldn't decide if I wanted this or not. I felt my palms clam up against his hands, and I was hoping he didn't notice. By the time his lips hit mine, I didn't care about anything. I had lost myself, and I didn't know what to do. I could feel the Matter, but I still felt like our skin was actually touching. James separated from me, and let me go. I smiled, and James smiled too.

"I've practicing my Matter. I told you it was a good way to date," James said, smiling with his eyebrows raised. I stepped out of the room, and into the hallway.

"James, what's upstairs?" I asked, avoiding the topic of what had just happened.

"My, uh, room." James grabbed my hand and led me upstairs. Instead of focusing on the Matter, I focused in on James. When we got to the top of the staircase, James flipped on a light. The whole floor was James' room. There were a lot of windows. There were couches like the living room, yet something was missing.

"Where is the bed, James?" I asked. James walked to sit on a couch, and he smiled at me.

"Immortal Ghosts don't have to sleep. Usually I just lounge around for a while, and then I wander the streets. I try to find something I can do for eight hours when the whole town is sleeping. I usually end up at your house, in which case, I just go home," James said. He looked nervous, but I just smiled at him.

"Hey, I'm not creeped out by this anymore. Sure, it is a little weird that you walk to my house at night, but it's fine, James." I crossed the room to James and I sat down on one of the couches across him. He got up, and came to sit next to me.

"I'm glad that you don't find this weird anymore," James said. "But, Annabelle, the love you feel for me will never be the same love that I feel for you. You might think that this isn't awkward for you, but it always will be. Especially when I say things about your past that you haven't told me about. It is going to be weird for you." James pushed my hair out of my eyes and held my cheek. "Plus, I will never be able to actually touch your cheek, like an actual person can."

"Well, you could if you made me an Immortal Ghost. I know it's early to say it, but really James, come on," I said. James smiled, and looked at me.

"Eventually, you will become an Immortal Ghost. But not on purpose. I want you to have a normal life, Annabelle. And you can't have a normal life if you're an Immortal Ghost." James stroked my cheek, and shifted in his seat. "Plus, you have barely spent enough time with me to start talking like that. Come on, Annabelle, just trust me."

I smiled and put my hand on his hand. I closed my eyes, and felt the Matter vibrating between us. James was stronger than I was, so I let him pull his hand away. "You already love me so much, James," I said. "I can never return that. I don't deserve you."

"Annabelle, please. It is too early for that. Give yourself time to learn to love me. Please, Annabelle." James sounded desperate now, so I surrendered. I sighed, and James took a deep breath. "Plus, we still are dating in secret, so maybe we'll ease them into it by asking you to prom." James smiled, but I was taken.

"What?" I asked. I knew I sounded desperate, but I didn't care.

"I really like you. You know that. Plus, I know you'll look so beautiful. Plus it is good way to start dating publicly."

"Oh, yeah, I guess that would work," I said.

"So, when should I ask you?"

"I don't know. I'm not good at that stuff. But why do we have to plan it all out?"

I could tell James was trying not to laugh. "Because, Annabelle, you want to stay friends with Kat, and I don't want to raise suspicions with anyone else." I wanted to argue, but it was a losing battle.

"I can't win with you, can I?" James shook his head, chuckling softly, so I sighed. "Fine, how about tomorrow?" I looked over at James, and he smiled.

"Alright, tomorrow, then."

"Oh, and another thing, we sometimes drink human blood." James stopped, and I got annoyed. There was something in me that believed him, but there was another part that didn't, and I didn't know what part was more overpowering, but as soon as James started to crack up, I got really annoyed.

"Are you kidding me, James," I said. "Really? I was about to walk out on you after you said that."

"No, I'm kidding. I just wanted to see what you would do. Anyway, we should get you home, it is almost eleven." James smiled, and I checked my cellphone.

"Okay, okay. Let's go." I got up, and James walked me out to the car. He opened my door, and I put my hand against his chest. "Just tell me one thing. Did you and Averie ever…" I trailed off.

"No," James said. He cleared his throat. "Averie wanted to, but we never did. Don't worry about her." James kissed the top of my head, and I got in the car.

James drove in silence, and when we got to my house, James left me at my door with a few words. "Look, don't rush into this. I mean, us. You'll find that you only love what I am, and what I do. It will take longer before something actual clicks between us." And then, James was gone. Without a kiss, or even a goodbye.

I changed into my cut-off sweats, and a tank top. After a while, I washed my face, and then I brushed my teeth. I climbed into bed, and turned off my lamp. Then, I started to toss and turn.

The whole night I was thinking about what James had said. I heard my mother walk in the house, take a shower and go to bed. And then, three hours later, I heard her get up and leave. That's the problem with having a police officer for a mother. I had been up for so long that I was too tired to even go to bed. After that, there was a rustle in my room by my desk. I closed my eyes, hoping it was just a dream, but it happened again. I sat up, and tried to find the reason for the rustling, but I couldn't see through the dark. I reached for my lamp, and turned it on. There was nothing there. After a while, I turned off the lamp, and then the rustling came back. For a while I ignored it, but then, I couldn't anymore.

"Who's there?" I asked. It was silly of my to think that anyone would answer, but I guess it's an instinct for humans to ask that question.

"Am I really making that much noise?" I heard James ask. Suddenly, he appeared sitting on my desk.

I jumped out of my skin. "God, James. Where did you come from?" I asked. James crossed the room and sat on the edge of my bed.

"Annabelle, I'm a Ghost, remember? I can appear and disappear. And I told you I ended up at your house a lot. The Possession just draws me to you," James said. He rubbed the back of his neck, and ran his hand through his hair.

"Right, sorry. I forget sometimes," I said. I hugged my knees to my chest. "Hey, were you and Averie, a, uh, a thing? I know I've asked before, but were you?" I asked. James turned towards me, and he started to laugh.

"No, Annabelle." He got out through his laughter.

"She just acts like she is in love with you. And she is really beautiful." James shifted on my bed. The strange thing was, was that I couldn't feel his weight on my bed, or his shifting. I guess I was staring because James looked up and smiled sheepishly.

"What?" He asked.

"I just keep think about what you said. You know, about being in love with what you are. You were right." I paused and put my hair behind my ear, a nervous tick I had. I could feel James' eyes on me, but I didn't look up. "It is just all new for me, so I'm just not used to it. And I think Averie made me feel even more awkward."

"Annabelle, forget about her. And, it's okay. I just wish you knew how weird it is for me. I fell in genuine love with you from the moment I saw you. You, you disliked me from the beginning. And now that you know what I am, you like me. And I feel like only a part of that is because you actually like me. For example, when you Passed Through me, you didn't run," James said.

James got up and walked to the window, and he sighed, staring out into the darkness. "Wait, James," I said. "Don't go. Please stay. Don't leave me here alone to my thoughts." James looked at the clock. It blinked 6:30. He walked to my desk and sat down on the chair.

"Well, don't you have to start getting ready anyway?" James asked. I groaned, but slowly nodded my head.

I walked into the bathroom, to begin the process. By the time I was ready, James had a new pair of clothes on, and he looked completely refreshed. I looked at his outfit, and up at his face. He smiled. "Just a perk," James said. And that was all he said.

"Okay," I said. I crossed the room to my dresser and opened it. I pulled out jeans and a purple v-neck. James groaned.

"Jeans again? Out of all the clothes in your closet, you chose jeans, again. Plus-" James cut off, knowing I wasn't going to change my mind, as I held up my hand to stop his tries.

"They are comfortable. I'm not going to change my wardrobe for someone I am supposed to hate. Plus you will find that I am not girly at all. I like jeans." I defended my jeans, and walked back into the bathroom to change. I could hear James softly chuckling to himself, and then I heard his smooth voice speak.

"Yes, that may be so, but I think today is the day. You know, the day I am going to ask you to prom?" I stepped out of the bathroom, dressed in my jeans and v-neck. I had my hair pulled up into a ponytail. Even with my hair pulled up, it reached down to the middle of my back. I felt James' eyes scan my body, looking over my body. His eyes scanned from my tight ponytail, to my v-neck, to my blue jeans, while I scanned his outfit. He was wearing a baby-blue polo, striped with dark blue stripes. James was also wearing dark blue jeans and white tennis shoes. I couldn't get over how handsome he looked in such a simple outfit.

"Oh yeah." I collected papers off of my desk, and stuffed them into my bag. There was a long silence while I figured out what books I needed for the day. I looked up at James to see his forehead creased, and his head cocked to the side. Slowly, his face spread into a wide smile.

I huffed at James' annoying querks. James started laughing and was still quietly chuckling to himself as I was pouring my cereal. I ate standing up at the counter, and when I was finished, I looked up at James. "Don't you need to eat?" I didn't bother asking him about his laughing, since he probably wouldn't give me a straight answer.

"No. Immortal Ghosts usually only eat as a technicality. For example, last night Averie and I only ate because you were there. Immortal Ghosts find it awkward to have a Mortal eating in front of them alone. I guess we are just polite like that." James smiled and hoisted himself up to sit on the counter.

"You don't get hungry?" I finished washing the bowl, dried it, and put it away.

"Well, we do, but since Immortal Ghosts are dead, most of us don't feel pain. Most of us don't have souls. Well, some of us still remember what it means to be polite, and-" I cut James off.

"Wait, some Immortal Ghosts have souls? Don't they go away when you die?" I paused, and let James give me a face. "Do you have a, a, um, soul, James?"

"Well, first of all, if you go to The Faraway before you are about twenty, your soul never dies. And secondly, that is why I have Possession of you. That is why I said it is really rare. You have to have a soul to Possess someone." James swallowed hard. "I was nineteen when I became an Immortal Ghost, so," James tapered off, and he looked down.

"Averie doesn't have a soul, does she?" I asked quietly. James shook his head, and I continued. "How long have you been nineteen, James?" I was afraid for the answer, but I still wanted to know.

"Since 1915," James said softly. He fiddled with his thumbs, and it was silent for a moment, and I walked over to where James was sitting. James looked at me, and I smiled sweetly.

"In case you didn't know, James, I don't care if you are a hundred years old. You will always be nineteen to me." James smiled back, and caressed my cheek. He gave me a half-smile, and then took a deep breath.

"Have I told you at all lately that I'm so glad I have Possession of you?" James asked. Before I had time to respond, James was leaning closer to me, and he had his other hand on my other cheek. Then, his lips hit mine. They crushed against mine, but let up. James dropped his hands. "Come on," he said softly. "We have to get to school. Unless you want to ditch with me."

"Too bad we can't both ditch. Especially since today is the day," I said, mysteriously.

"Oh right. I forgot that I'm asking you to prom today. Alright, come on. Hey, I'll meet you at school." James kissed me on the forehead, and then he disappeared. The ghost thing was starting to get a little weird.

I was at my locker when James appeared beside me. "So, when do you want me to ask you?" He asked. I looked up at him, and shrugged my shoulders. "Look, you're supposed to hate me, but we're also going to prom together. Please try to be less hostile." James whispered at a level that I could barely hear.

"I was trying to say that I don't know when you should ask me. Maybe at lunch?" I said, quietly.

"Oh, sorry. Body language isn't really my thing. But lunch sounds good. Hey, but let's go to English," James said. We walked to English together, but he didn't dare wrap his arm around me like he probably wanted to.

"Annabelle!" Kat squealed when we reached the classroom. "Oh, hi, James. Annabelle, where were you all weekend? I kept looking for you, but you were almost never home, and you didn't check your email! It's like you died for the weekend, and then came back." I wanted to laugh, since she didn't get the irony of her last sentence, but didn't because she would pester me into telling her what I was laughing about.

"Sorry, Kat, I got caught up doing other things," I said. I sat down beside her and faced Kat. "What did you need? Was something wrong?"

"No, I just needed to talk to you about something." She eyed James like this was a girl thing. She lowered her voice, not knowing James could still hear and continued. "Do you have a date to the prom yet?" I shook my head. "Well, what if you went with Luke? I know he really wanted to go with me, but since I have a date, maybe you should go with him."

"I don't know, Kat. What if he wants to go with someone else? I mean, it could happen."

"No, I know he wanted to go with me. But I have a date. At least consider it, Annabelle. Please, for me." Kat looked me in the eyes pleading for my consideration.

"Alright, maybe." I turned to look at James and I raised my eyebrows. He mouthed a quick _Wait_ before turning to face the front of the classroom. Mr. Johnson walked in and started the lecture. I zoned out for the whole class, not thinking about anything. I was really sleeping with my eyes open. Kat would occasionally look over me and plead silently to ask Luke to prom. Then James would look over at me and smile his mesmerizing smile.

Lunch didn't come fast enough. I had most of my classes with Kat, so she kept pressuring me about Luke. I mostly zoned out in my classes, since the material was stuff I had already learned.

By the time the lunch bell rang, Kat had probably asked me about Luke fifty times, literally. We walked to lunch together, and Kat sat down across from me, like she usually did. Luke sat down next and Kat nodded towards him. James sat down next to me, and smiled at us.

"Listen, Annabelle, about prom-" Luke started.

"Speaking of prom," James interrupted. "Annabelle, may I ask you a question?"

"I guess," I said, trying to sound like I didn't care.

"Would you, um, please go to prom with me?" James asked. He stuttered, but he was just putting on a show. Kat's jaw dropped, and Luke's eyes rolled.

"Yeah, sure, I guess."

"You guess?" Kat almost yelled. "She would be delighted to go with you." Kat looked at me, and smiled.

"Yes, that is what I meant." I was trying to sound nonchalant, but I was actually really excited.

"Oh my gosh! Annabelle, we will have to go shopping this weekend. I mean, prom is only two weeks away. What will you wear?" Kat kept on babbling, but she got quieter, so I turned to Luke.

"What will you do, Luke?" I asked.

"I was thinking about asking Jessie. You know her, right?" Luke nodded over at Jessie, and her friends.

"Yeah, I like her. She is in my physics class. She is a real sweetheart," I said. I looked over at Jessie, and she smiled lightly at me. "When are you going to ask her?" I turned back towards Luke.

"Um, right now," Luke said. He got a burst of confidence and turned towards her. He got up, and walked over to Jessie. I couldn't hear them, but I could see Luke stumbling over his words, and then looking at Jessie hopefully. She nodded, and smiled at him, and Luke came sauntering over. "She said yes. Now we all have dates."

"Yeah. Hey, I'm going to talk to Mr. Johnson about my last test, so I guess I'll see you guys later," I said. I threw away my food, and left the cafeteria, but I didn't go to English. I just needed to get out of the cafeteria. I didn't know why, but I did. I couldn't breathe, and I didn't know why.

"Annabelle?" I heard Luke ask. I took a deep breath and looked at him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, why?" I asked.

"You almost ran out of the cafeteria. I mean, if you didn't want to go to prom with James, you didn't have to say yes." Luke stepped towards me, and I pulled open my locker.

"No, I do want to go with him. I'm warming up to him, and I just needed to get out of there. I don't know, I just needed some space."

"Yeah, that makes sense." Luke started to walk away, but turned back. "Why weren't you as surprised as Kat was when James asked you to prom just now. I mean, you looked nonchalant and said 'I guess.'"

"He told me he was going to ask this morning. He said he was going to ask someone, but he didn't actually tell him it was going to be me, but I guessed," I lied. Luke smiled and turned around again.

"Okay, see you later. Relax though. You look like you're about to have a seizure." Luke walked away, and turned into the cafeteria again. I let out a sigh of relief and turned back to my locker. James was standing there, making me jump back one foot.

"James, stop doing that. You could try to act human at least," I said. He smiled and reached out to take my hand. I grabbed it, and I felt the Matter vibrate.

"But that would take the fun out of being an Immortal Ghost," James said. He pulled me closer with one hand, and I looked around the school hallway to make sure no one was watching. I ran my fingers through his hair, and he closed his eyes when I ran my fingers down his cheek, watching the Matter spark between us. "Annabelle, someone is coming," James murmured under his breath. I let go of his cheek, and he let go of my hand. We separated, and James opened his eyes. "So, I guess I will pick you up at seven," James covered as Kat walked out to her locker.

"Yeah. That sounds fine, James," I said, trying to sound calm and collected. "Kat, did you get the English homework? I walked out of class before he handed it out, so I need it." Kat looked at me, and looked at James as he silently walked away into the hallway.

"Sure. You have to read to page 117 in _The Catcher in the Rye._ After that, write about why it is relevant to what we are learning," Kat said. "How can you just blow him off like that? The man just asked you to prom, and you just say 'I guess,' when tons of girls would love to go with, with James." Kat lowered her voice when a group of girls walked by.

"Yes, I know. I'm trying as hard as I can to be polite," I lied. "You know I don't take to new people. But, I'm slowly warming up to him, don't worry, Kat, I won't blow him off."

"I know, I just wish you knew how lucky you were." Kat shook her head as if to dismiss the subject and moved on. "Anyway, can you come shopping with me on Friday night? I want to find a dress for you for prom!"

"Don't you need a dress, too, Kat?"

"Please," she said. "I've had my dress for months. You weren't even planning on going, so you don't have a dress. And you know your mom won't have time to go with you, no offense. You need someone there with you, so I'm volunteering my services!" Kat squealed, and closed her locker.

"If I say yes, will you stop squealing like that? Honestly, Kat!" I leaned against my locker, and she gave me a face.

"Fine, I guess," she said.

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Now, just press that review button please! THANKS!**

**~R.S.**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello! I realized today that it has been a long time since I posted, so sorry! This chapter is kind of…um… I don't know. I wasn't exactly confident in it, so let me know… Also, if you want to review or even ask me specific questions or edit or whatever, PM me, and we can talk!**

**Enjoy!**

I was still up doing my homework when James was in my room. "Hey," he said softly. I looked up at him, not jumping at all, since I was getting used to him 'popping' in and out.

"Hi," I said.

"You're up late," James said, sitting down on my bed. I held up my English book, and he nodded lightly. I was going to ask him if he should be studying, but it was as if he had read my mind because he started to answer my question. "I don't need to study, since I've been nineteen for a lot of years. I've probably read that book ten times. It gets better every time, too." I turned back to my desk to put my book down.

"I know," I said, getting up. "I've read it before." I crossed to sit on my bed beside James, and I looked at him. I mean, I really looked at him.

His eyes were the lightest purple with splashes of grey surrounding them, and they were ringed by a darker purple. His hair was a simple, yet handsome light brown, and that was it. It was probably the simplest color there could be. James' outfit was simple too. He had changed from what he was originally wearing in the day to a simple pair of black slacks and a navy blue button down. He was wearing black socks, and black dress shoes.

"By the way, where are you going dressed like that?" I asked. He looked down at his outfit and laughed.

"Nowhere. It is just what I wear all the time. It is uncomfortable for me to wear jeans." James put his hand on my knee, and I focused in on the Matter, but he quickly drew it off and crossed his arms. "Alright, you have to stop doing that, Annabelle."

"Stop doing what?" I didn't look up.

"Whenever I touch you, you focus in on the Matter, and not on anything else but the Matter. It bugs me. If it is going to be a problem, I can just practice the Solid." James pushed my chin up to look into his eyes. I shook my head, and swallowed hard.

"No, it's fine. I'll try not to look anymore. It's just so cool, but weird at the same time." I kept looking James in the eye, and as soon as I glanced down at the Matter, he let go of my chin. I looked back up at James and lifted my arms up in surrender. He laughed and put his hand back on my knee.

"Don't surrender that easily, Annabelle. I think it is funny when you defy me, even when you know I'm going to win." James patted my knee and smiled at me. I laughed a little, and focused in on not looking down at the Matter sparking between us.

"Who says you always win?" I asked, my voice thick with excitement. I reached towards James' cheeks, and grabbed them. I pulled him towards me, and I didn't focus on the Matter. All I focused on was my need to have James close to me. I was surprised, the craving to have him near was new, but it was a good feeling. I liked it. I pulled him closer, and he tried to resist, but I stayed strong.

"Annabelle, wait," James gasped.

"What, what's wrong?" I said, releasing James' face. He looked towards the door, and then he was gone. I mean, gone. He disappeared. My mother walked into the room and smiled. That explained James' behavior. I looked at the clock and I was surprised. "Mom? You're home awfully early."

"Well, I wanted to see you. I never see you anymore, honey. Hey, maybe we should go dress shopping for prom together," Mom said.

"Yeah, but I kind of promised Kat that I was going with her." I looked down at my hands, and I tried not to make eye contact. I knew how disappointed she probably was, but I didn't know what else to say. "You could come if you wanted, that would be fun," I added.

"No, it's okay. You two need your girl time," She sounded sad, but then shook it off. "Hey, do you want to have dinner with me?" Mom gestured towards the kitchen and I looked at the clock, again.

"Mom, it's ten thirty." I chuckled and she laughed, too.

"I know, but we never have dinner anymore. Come on, we'll have pancakes." I got out of bed, but lingered.

"Mom, just give me a minute to put away some homework," I said. Mom nodded and turned out of the room. I turned around and James was there again. "James, I have to do this one thing. Please, don't leave." James nodded, understanding, and I smiled before turning out of my room.

When I got downstairs, Mom already had pancakes on the table. "So," she said. "What prom dress design are you thinking about?"

"Well, I wasn't planning on going to the prom, but then James asked me, so Kat freaked out, and-"

"Wait, James? Who is that? I don't think you've talked about him before." Mom interrupted me, having swallowed a huge bite of her pancakes.

"Yeah, he's, um new this year."

"Describe him. Maybe I've seen him around town."

I took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to describe him. "James is tall. He has perfectly tousled brown hair, and eyes you can get lost in. His smile is perfect, and he, is, is, he's beautiful in every way." I lost myself thinking about James, and his features.

"It sounds like you really care about him, Annabelle." Mom's voice brought me back to the real world.

"Yeah, I guess I do." I looked at Mom and smiled. She opened her mouth for more pancakes, but the phone interrupted her. Mom went to answer, leaving me alone to polish off the pancakes.

"Annabelle, sweetie?" I gave her a face for the nickname and she just kept on talking. "I have to get back to work." She started to run out the door. "Hey, have fun at prom!" She ran out of the door, and when it closed, I slumped onto my chair, and then got up to wash the dishes.

"She seems nice," James said, as he suddenly appeared on the counter. He was being sarcastic, so I scoffed at him, sarcastically. "And what you said about me was nice." His voice was almost taunting now.

"Oh, please," I huffed. I walked back upstairs to my room, and turned off the main light, leaving just the lamp on. I climbed into my bed and watched as James sat down at the other end of the bed, giving me my space. He stared at me as I got prepared to go to bed. "Sorry, James, I haven't slept in over 36 hours, so I have to sleep."

James nodded, and smiled. "It's okay, honey. Go to sleep. I'll still be here in the morning." I reached to turn off the lamp, and I fell against the pillow, exhausted. I could feel James' eyes on me, but I was too tired to feel self-conscious about it. I slowly drifted to sleep, only to find myself in a waking nightmare.

_"Annabelle!" I heard a voice yell. I looked around me. I was in a hallway painted a light tan, with rugs colored maroon. I had been here before, but I didn't know how. I looked down at myself. My brown hair fell around my shoulders, and I was wearing a pink tank top with a grey, light sweater, and tan shorts. I ran to where the voice came from. A tall, brown door with large brass doorknobs appeared before me. I grabbed at the doorknobs, only to find it locked. It wouldn't budge. Something sharp stabbed my leg, when I heard another groan. "Don't come in here, Annabelle. It's a trick." I realized it was James calling to me, and as I produced a key, I didn't heed his warning. The key slipped into the lock perfectly. It twisted and the door swung open._

_ I stepped into an empty, dark room, I guessed it was a ballroom. I looked around for James, but all I saw through the darkness was an empty chair. Suddenly, James was sitting in the chair, bound by Matter. I ran across the room to free him, but every time I took a step forward, the chair slid back. I kept persisting until I couldn't walk anymore. I collapsed in the middle of the room. Silhouettes started closing in on me, and the only verification that James was still there, and I was safe was the bright green glow from the Matter. _

_ One of the figures got close enough that I could make out her features. Her blonde hair spilled over her shoulders, and she was too beautiful for human features. I screamed, and covered my face with my hands, having just recognized one of my possible killers._

Drenched in sweat, I shot up off my pillow. Tears were falling from my eyes, and I wiped my cheeks. My skin was burning, but I was shivering. I tried to slow my breathing, but I didn't succeed. I clenched my knees to my chest, and started to breathe harder. The darkness wasn't helping me get out of the nightmare.

"Annabelle, what's wrong?" James asked crossing the room to me. He sat beside me and cradled me in his arms. The green glow emanating from the Matter only took me back to my nightmare, but it was comforting just the same. He soothed me for about five minutes, rocking me back and forth. Once I had stopped my blubbering and shivering, James tried again. "Annabelle, honey, what happened? What's wrong?"

I looked into James' deep eyes, and tried to forget the nightmare. "Just a nightmare," I whispered. James hugged me closer to his chest.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked softly, his lips nestled in my hair. I shook my head. "Okay. Go back to sleep, Annabelle. I'm here, don't worry."

James continued to rock me back and forth and I shut my eyes tightly. I focused on the rocking, and the warmth the Matter was providing. I slipped into a light sleep without nightmares.

I was still rocking when my alarm went off. I reached to turn it off, but James' hand stopped mine. His fingers curled around mine, and I smiled. They reached to turn the alarm off, and then his hand was back on mine. I groaned and rubbed my forehead with my free hand. I turned my head away from the light pouring in from my window, and into a darker space in my room. I felt James shaking beneath me, so I looked up at him. He was smiling at me, and his eyes were sparkling.

"What?" I moaned. James smiled and lightly wiped the hair out of my eyes.

"Tough night?" He asked. I closed my eyes and groaned again.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because you screamed, woke up shaking, and fell asleep crying." He smiled an adorable, innocent smile. "It was a joke, Annabelle." I looked up at James and gave him a look.

"I'm glad my emotions amuse you, James." He gave me a look back. "Now be quiet," I said, yawning. "Some of us have sleep to catch on." I curled back up in James' arms, and he put his lips in my ear.

"Does this mean we are skipping school?" He whispered. I nodded, so we stayed like that. I slipped in and out of sleep, always feeling James' secure arms around me, and the Matter pulsating between us.

Hunger woke me out of my broken sleep. I opened my eyes and yawned. Stretching my arms, I looked up into James' sparkling eyes. He looked over at the clock and smiled at me. James kissed me on the top of my head. "Twelve o'clock. Ready for lunch?" He asked.

"Yes please. Just give me a minute," I said, but James uncurled me. I looked up at him, and tried to persist, but he was stronger than I was.

"No, no, no. If I give you a minute, you'll go back to sleep. Come on, we, well, rather you, have to eat. I can hear your stomach grumbling." James got up, and helped me. He walked downstairs ahead of me, and I stumbled after him.

James opened the fridge, and stood there for a moment, while I took a seat beside him on the counter. I leaned against the cupboards and closed my eyes, depending on the smell, and the sounds to figure out what lunch was going to be. James pulled a bunch of things and he was off. There was chopping, sizzling, and more chopping. It all smelled so good.

He lightly tapped me on the knee to wake me before placing a warm plate on my lap. I looked down. The meal looked like a simple grilled cheese, so I took an eager bite. But it wasn't what I had expected. As soon as I took the first bite, I looked up at James.

"I was good in the kitchen before this, so it isn't a skill I acquired, if that is what you are wondering," he said. I quickly polished off the sandwich and James scoffed. "You could have tasted it at least. I think it is the best one I've made, ever."

"I did taste it. It was good, and I liked it. You have to make me another one, one day." I put the plate in the sink, and then turned back towards James. "So, what are we going to do the rest of the day?" I asked. James smiled.

"I don't know, Annabelle. I was planning to go to school today. We could, I don't know. I'm not good at improvising. Give me a-" I stopped his mindless babbling by crushing my lips against his. I threaded my fingers through his hair, and he wrapped his arms around my neck. My need to have him near was getting stronger and I couldn't help but smile. We separated, and James slightly smiled. "Well, that's a good way to waste the day."

"No, I just needed you to shut up. I want to tell you about my nightmare." James swallowed and looked solemnly at me. He nodded, so I continued. "I was in this ballroom. It was a long room. I didn't know what to do. You were bound to a chair by Matter. You assured me that I shouldn't have come to the room, but of course I walked in." James sighed, but I still continued. "Every time I took a step forward, your chair scooted back. It went like this for a while, but then I collapsed. After a minute, these figures started closing in on me. And one of them was-" I cut off, but James reassuringly put his hand on my cheek. "It was Averie, James. She was one of the people there." James removed his hand quickly, and took in a sharp breath, before calming down.

"It was just a dream, honey. This is why they are in our heads, and not in reality." James put his hand back on my cheek, and I took hold of it. I sighed, and he rubbed his thumb against my cheek.

The phone rang, and I flinched. James reached over and handed it to me. I reluctantly answered it. "Hello? Oh, hey, Kat. Yes, I'm fine. Just a little sick. What do I have? The flu. I know, it sucks. I'll be fine by tomorrow. Yes, we will still go shopping. Okay, see you tomorrow. Alright, later then." I hung up the phone, and James took the phone out of my hand. "So, are you going to say anything else about my nightmare? What about the Averie part?"

"I don't really know what to say. Unless, no it's impossible that it could already be happening, but I did already Possess you. What if? No, it is impossible." James babbled on to himself.

"James, want to share with the people that don't speak code over here?" I asked. He looked up and smiled.

"Sorry. Sometimes I lose myself in a little world. I was just saying that it is possible that you were seeing a part of the future, but chances are it was just a dream, Annabelle. Just shake it off. It was _one _dream."

"James, that is just it." I looked deeply into his eyes. "I've had this nightmare before. Even before you came here. This isn't the first time I've had this nightmare." I was repeating my words, but I couldn't help it. James looked at me quizzically, but he still spoke confidently.

"Strange, but you should shake it off. Once you get more used to me, and Immortal Ghost stuff, the nightmare will probably go away." James smiled, and I smiled back. I didn't know why he was being so cryptic, but I decided not to push James into telling me something he obviously didn't want me to know.

"Okay. Fine. Speaking of Averie, I had a question to ask you. You know how when I was at your house, and you said that Averie saw me in The Faraway?" I asked. James nodded his head slowly. "Well, why did she see me there? Had I died when she saw me?"

"It's either that, yes, you were dying, or that you were simply in The Faraway. I could take you there. In fact, I could take you there whenever I wanted to. But I won't too often because it is addicting there." I nodded my head to show that I understood, and James smiled. "I'm bored, Annabelle. We have to figure out something to do."

I hopped off the counter and looked James in the eye. "We could watch T.V. or we could play a game, or we could draw, or something."

"T.V. sounds fine. It will be nice to just sit around for a while." James wrapped his arms around me as I walked into the living room to watch T.V.

I grabbed the remote, and sat down on the couch. James sat right beside me, touching me, and he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I flipped through the channels until I settled on marathon of _Star Trek._ I don't think James watched the show at all. He was watching me most of the time. I would have felt uncomfortable, but it wasn't a creepy kind of watching. It was more like a relaxed form of watching, a loving, caring look. I resisted the urge to watch the Matter vibrating, and focused intently on the T.V. So much so that I started to get a headache, so I relaxed. I leaned back on the couch, and looked around me.

I was probably the luckiest girl alive as of right now. My incredibly hot, weird, and nearly dead boyfriend was sitting beside me, staring adoringly at me, and we were just watching T.V. That was the great thing about James. He had had so much experience with girls, I thought, that he knew not to push it.

After the last episode finished in the marathon, James got up. "Alright," he said. "It's seven thirty. It's time to do something new. You are going to turn into a couch potato, Annabelle. Do you want to eat? Or at least do something new."

"I'm not hungry, but we can do something new. I don't know what, but yes of course." I turned the T.V. off, and then got up. James wrapped his arms around me and leaned in. "I didn't mean that, James." I pecked him on the lips, and the leaned away. He pouted, sarcastically, and I laughed.

"You have to do homework, Annabelle. With me around, you are going to start failing your classes." James walked me upstairs and handed me my book bag. "Finish the book, and start your thesis. In math, you didn't have anything, science is the same. In history, write a paper on how World War II affected our country. In French, you don't have anything."

"You know this how?" I asked, pulling out the stuff I needed for homework. James shrugged his shoulders, and I shook my head. "You're crazy, but that is why I like you so much." James laughed and sat down on my desk, beside my books.

"Well, you know why I _like_ you, but you're a little crazy too, Annabelle. Admit it." James leaned in to me, and I looked into his eyes. They were soft, yet they were confident and strong. It was in those eyes that you could see the pain he had suffered, the hardships he'd faced, and the things he had seen. His eyes were the key to the years he had seen pass. They were beautiful, and deep, and the only thing that gave away his actual age. I took hold of James' cheek, and stroked his cheek with my thumb. He closed his eyes, and for once, I didn't look at the Matter. I only watched his face, his timeless face. "I love you," James whispered.

I nearly had a heart attack. I removed my hand from his cheek. I looked down, and James grabbed my hand. I started breathing really hard, and I didn't know why. I knew he loved me, and I was falling fast for him, so I didn't understand why I was freaking out. James squeezed my hand and held it tightly.

"I'm sorry, Annabelle. I got caught up in the moment, and it slipped out. I'm sorry, honey. I'm so sorry." James faded away, and let go of my hand. He stayed sitting by me, but I could tell like he was distant, and I didn't like it.

"James, I just never heard you say it aloud before. It caught me by surprise. If anyone should be sorry, it's me," I said. James smiled, and came back to me in this lifetime. I patted his thigh, and slightly smiled, but I still felt shaken up. I could tell that James could tell that I was still feeling awkward. I wondered if I loved him back.

"Alright, but you are a bad liar." James laughed, and then leaned back in towards me. I closed my eyes and let James fingers trace all of my features in my face. "Annabelle," James whispered. I fluttered my eyes to let him know I was listening. "You really are beautiful." I opened my eyes, and James was closer to me. He reached to behind my neck, and his lips crushed against mine. He leaned in closer, but still stayed solid on the desk. Just when I thought James was going to fall over, he looked up. "Your mother is coming." Then he was gone.

"Mom?" I asked, surprised she was actually home, again.

"Annabelle, hi. I'm only here for a couple minutes, not for as long as last time. Just wanted to say hi before I headed back out." Mom rushed in and out of my room. I heard her change, and then the she left again. I sighed, and put my hand to my head. I was so frustrated with her. She didn't want anything to do with me as of right now.

James was beside me again, with his hand under my chin. "Honey, it's okay that you're mad." I wanted to scream, but I refrained. A tear rolled down my cheek, and James wiped it away. "Do you want to talk about it?" He coaxed. I shook my head, but then took a deep breath.

"It's always been like this, James. Even when Dad was around. He would be the one taking care of me, and Mom was always out. It's like she never even cared about me, and that she didn't even want me." The tears were falling like raindrops on my lap now. James looked empathetic, but I knew he already knew all of my past. He wiped a tear off my cheek, and wiped it on his pants.

"She loves you, Annabelle. Trust me." I sniffled, and shook it off. I turned back to my homework, and stopped the tears.

"Anyway, I don't need to do this homework, I know all of this stuff already." James laughed, and took my book.

"No, Annabelle, I know all this stuff already." Then, James slipped into _Love's Labours Lost._ "By heaven, that thou art fair, is most infallible; true, that thou art beauteous; truth itself, that thou are lovely. More fairer than fair, beautiful than beauteous, truer that truth itself, have commiseration on thy heroical vassal!" I looked at James and smiled.

"That was pretty," I said, breaking the spell and taking my book back. I closed my book, and set in on the desk. I glanced at the clock, and yawned. "10:30. Time for bed."

"We are going to school tomorrow, right?" James asked, his voice trailing behind me into the bathroom. I poked my head out and nodded. He smiled. "Good. People would get suspicious if we both missed another day."

"I know," I said from the bathroom doorway. I climbed into bed, and James stood by the window, wistfully looking out into the night. "James?" He turned to face me, his timeless eyes seeing right through me. "Don't leave." He smiled.

"I could never leave you, Annabelle." James came and kissed me on the forehead. "Ever," he whispered to my hair.

I settled into the deep comforter, and James watched as I slowly fell into a peaceful sleep.

**So, I hope this chapter wasn't that bad… Review to let me know!**

**R.S.**


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: So, this is a pretty fast post… Just keep reviewing and I'll keep posting. I love the reviews I've been getting, so just keep going. Thanks for sticking with me! I love you all, even if I don't know you. ;) If you ever want to help out or want me to hint at upcoming chapters, just let me know!**

**Disclaimer: This story is absolutely mine, okay? If you want it, PM or review and we can talk!**

**Enjoy…**

_The flowers smelled like honey. Their colors so vibrant, they were hurting my eyes. The summer air teasing my hair to sway back and forth. The trees were swaying in the wind, as if rehearsing for a dance. Soft music filled my ears, and the grass tickled my ankles. But I was alone. A beautiful marble building stood to my left, the trees to my right. I knew I had a choice to make, but I couldn't decide on one. I closed my eyes and followed my instincts. _

_ The door nearly slammed shut behind me, causing me to jump. I was alone in the building, as well. It was dimmer in here than outside, but something was drawing me up the stairs. But I resisted. I ran my hand along the smooth, marble wall. The white color only added to its smooth texture. I smiled, my red lips curling into a slight smile in pleasure from the cold chill that was emanating from the wall. _

_ I shivered when I heard a shout from upstairs, but I shook it off. I looked at all the paintings that were plastered on the wall. They were all originals. There was no way they were knock-offs. It was something about the way the texture popped out at you was what told me they were real. There was another shout, so I stepped onto the first step._

_ But I hesitated, before hearing another shout. The desperate call made me bound up the stairs, waiting for another shout. I ran down the tan colored hall, with maroon rugs covering the wooden floor. I had been here before. Before the next call could come out with my name in it, I knew I had to wake myself from this soon to be nightmare. _

"No, no!" I called out. James was immediately at my side, stroking my forehead, my damp, yet warm forehead. I fell against his chest and shuddered.

"Annabelle, sweetheart. Did you have that nightmare again?" James wrapped his arms around me, and started to smooth out my clothes. He kissed my forehead, and I shut my eyes tightly.

"No, it was a good dream until I recognized it. I began to recognize it from the nightmare, and I knew what was coming, so I woke myself up. I couldn't go through it again." I shivered against James' solid chest, and he ran his fingers through my hair.

"Understandable, honey. You have to go back to bed, though." James started humming an unintelligible song, but then I realized that he was humming a John Mayer song. I laughed shakily through my tears before slipping back into a deep sleep, from which I didn't wake up from until the alarm went off. "Alright, Annabelle. Get ready for school." It was annoying that James was always so prompt, but I couldn't resist his voluptuous voice.

I rolled out of bed and looked in the mirror. My brown hair was so messy, a bird could have been nesting in it, and my skin looked so dry I could have been a prune. James came and wiped the hair out of my face and wrapped his arms around my waist. He rested his head on my shoulder, and his ageless eyes stared into mine through the mirror. "If you want to take a shower, you can," he whispered into my ear, his lips grazing the top of it. I resisted the urge to shiver at the slight touch on my ear and shook my head. I smiled and turned to look at him. "What?"

"Nothing. I just don't feel like it, I guess," I said to him. James just shrugged, getting this adorable innocent look on his face and I couldn't help but laugh at him. I walked into the bathroom to comb out my hair, and I heard James sifting through stuff in my room. Once I had finished brushing my hair, I walked out into my room, and looked at James. "What are you doing?" James looked up, and held up some of my old drawings. He smiled at me, and I put my hand to my forehead, embarrassed.

"Did you know that before I was in The Faraway I hated to draw? I was good at it, but I hated to." I sat down beside James and looked at the drawing he had lingered on. It was the one of the one yellow flower in a meadow of burnt, dead twigs. I had entitled it _Hope_, but it was never one of my best drawings.

James swallowed. "When Averie took me in, I was in my room a lot because I was so lonely all the time, missing my parents all the time. So, I started drawing more. A lot more. And then, after that, I began to love to draw." He was speaking softly, as if this was hard to talk about, but he continued. "I thought that if maybe I had something good to lean on for the next couple thousand years, I could be happy. But it wasn't enough. Drawing didn't make me as happy as I thought it would. I thought I would just stay in The Faraway in order to figure out how to go into the Light, but until then, I needed something to do. So I decided to come back to the Mortal world." James looked me in the eye and smiled. "And I saw you, and I knew it would all be okay for me."

I shifted in my seat, suddenly understanding that I was one of the only things keeping James from committing "Ghost suicide." In order to ignore the subject, I focused back in on the drawing James had in his hand. "Why did you pick this picture, James?" I asked him quietly. He looked at me, smiling.

"It reminds me of the feeling I got when I saw you for the first time. It gave me hope that something was changing for me. And it did." James looked down at the photo and smiled, but it was a different smile. It was a sad smile. The kind of smile you would get when you were thinking about something sad, like dying. I rested my head on his shoulder and he cleared his throat.

"But enough of this," he said, with a new tone in his voice. "We have to go to school. Just remember that it is Wednesday, and then you have two more days until the weekend when you get to go shopping with Kat." James was mocking me, but I still got up and walked downstairs to leave. James grabbed my hand and pulled me in. "Wait, you forgot something."

James pulled me closer, and I smiled, my back arching to fit to James' body. He pulled me in tightly, and my hair fell to tickle his arm. He leaned down to kiss me, but he stopped halfway. I looked up from the Matter, realizing I had been staring at it, and he smiled. Surrendering, I looked into James' deep purple eyes, and got lost. Before I knew it, James was on me. His lips were actually on me. His lips started on mine, but then left. They followed my jaw line, until they reached my neck. He wanted this, and I wanted this, but we couldn't. I couldn't.

"No, James, no," I said. But he didn't let up, his lips just traveled to my ear. I tried to push him off, but he was too strong for me. "Please, this is too soon. Please, just for now." James let up, but barely. I could still feel his lips lingering on my ear. I was just happy that he had let up, since we both wanted it so much, and I didn't think I could resist much longer.

"You're right, Annabelle. I'm sorry," James whispered in my ear. He didn't let go of my hand, but he did separate from my ear in order to pull me downstairs. James pulled me outside, and he kissed me on the cheek before opening my car door. Then, he was gone.

I leaned back on the seat while I was driving. I reflected on how much I knew about James. Besides that, I thought about how much I liked him except that I didn't know him all that well. I also thought about the nightmare I had had before I had even met James. I thought about what, rather who was in the nightmare. And then it hit me. Again.

Averie was familiar to me because she was one of the people in the nightmare.

I had already told James, but he had brushed it off as nothing. But it wasn't nothing, at least, not to me. This was definitely something, and now, I wanted to know why he just brushed it off as if it was nothing. I needed answers.

When I got to my locker, James was there, smiling at me. But I couldn't look him in the eye. I thought that if I did, I would burst. James' glorious smile soon faded and he briefly touched my hand.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing. Why would you think that anything was wrong?" I answered, somewhat hastily.

He dismissed my question, and focused on my answer. "You know that you can't lie to me, right? Annabelle, you have to tell me what's wrong." I smiled into those eternal eyes, and shook my head.

"Nothing's wrong, James." He looked like he had dismissed it, but stood closely to me, his lips nestled right by my ear.

"I'll take that for now, but you know I'm going to get the answer out of you eventually," he whispered. James separated and walked away to some class, or something else he needed to attend to.

"Was that James that just disappeared?" I heard Kat ask from behind me. I turned to face her, and she smiled at me.

"Um, yeah, it was. He just, you know, wanted to talk to me about prom. Why?" Kat twirled her hair, while unconsciously biting her lip.

"I don't know, just wondering." She shook her head and looked up at me. "Annabelle, he really seems to like you. I'd hang onto him before someone else takes him. Not me, I have a boyfriend. But you know, other girls." I smiled at Kat, and nodded my head.

"Trust me Kat. I don't think anyone is going to move in on James." She smirked and I looked her in the eye, changing the subject. I didn't want to talk about James anymore. "Hey, I'm excited for Saturday."

Kat swallowed her cranberry juice and looked up. "Oh, yeah, me too. Wait, weren't we talking about going on Friday." I shrugged my shoulders and Kat nodded. "Okay, anyway, what kind of dress are you thinking about?" But before I could answer, Kat walked around me in a circle. "You would look good in a short, yet not too immodest dress. But I don't know. We'll see." She smiled, and I smiled back. I tried to hide the nervousness in my eyes, and my whole body. "Hey, see you later. It's almost time for class. At lunch, Annabelle. Bye!" And then Kat was gone.

I sighed, and headed off to my first class, only waiting to see my friends at lunch. P.E. annoyed me, but I was good at it, so I didn't always dread it.

"Annabelle!" Luke said cheerfully, as he sat down across from me. But then Jessie smiled at him, and he got up. "Sorry, my prom date calls," he said dramatically before heading to sit with Jessie. Moments after, Kat sat down across from me and smiled.

"What's up, Annabelle?" She asked me.

"Nothing much has changed since this morning, why?"

"I don't know. This morning you seemed a little…um…tightly wound." Kat smiled at James as he sat down next to me. James put his hand on my leg under the table, and smiled at me, but I didn't smile back. I simply couldn't.

"James, can I talk to you about prom?" I asked. James nodded and Kat looked expectantly at me. "Um, privately, please."

I excused myself from the lunch table and I heard James excuse himself. I walked down the hall to where no one was, and waited for James. He appeared and wrapped his arms around me, but I pushed him away. "What's wrong, honey?"

"How well do you know Averie?" I asked James, and continued. "And, do you like her a lot?"

James smiled. "I know her from what she told me about herself. And of course I like her. She saved me," he said. "Why?"

"When I first saw Averie she looked familiar to me. I figured she was just so pretty she looked like a model I knew. But then, I had the nightmare again, and I knew where I had seen Averie from." I trailed off, and looked away from James. He bent his knees to look into my eyes, and though I tried incredibly hard to avoid his eyes, I couldn't.

"What are you trying to say, Annabelle? Stop being so cryptic. I don't want this tension between us anymore." James asked softly, trying to coax the information out of me.

"You know how I told you that in my nightmare people were trying to grab me? Well, I think that Averie is one of the people who tried to grab me. Please don't be mad that I think this. I'm just trying to be honest."

"You were probably just overwhelmed with everything you had just found out. We've talked about this before, honey. I'm not doubting you, Annabelle. Trust me. I just think you should shake it off. If you see her again, tell me." James gave me a tight squeeze, and for once I didn't focus on the Matter. I looked into James' eyes and saw the joy he had to hold me close. The joy to have my breath on his face. I felt the joy a little too, and I couldn't help but wonder if it was a little because of the Possession. I kissed him on the cheek before heading down the hall.

_Why do I like him so much? Why can't I resist him?_ I thought as I walked down the hall. I turned to look where I had left James but he wasn't there. _He's probably right about Averie though. It's probably just in my head. _

"Annabelle," Kat said from behind me, startling me. I jumped around to face her, nodding at her in order for her to tell me what was bugging her. "You and James are closer than I thought, aren't you? I won't be mad, I just would like to know."

I smiled at Kat, and shook my head. "Why would you think that? I've known him just as long as you have." Kat shook her head and looked down at her feet in order to avoid my eye contact.

"It just seems that you have a special bond that I can't avoid. And-" The thunder outside drowned out her speaking and she seemed to dismiss the problem. The thunder stopped, and Kat spoke again. "I'm really looking forward to this weekend. I can't wait to see you act like a girl." Kat laughed, but I was positive it was only to cover up the awkwardness. I could hear the rain falling heavily outside, and I could only wait to get out of this conversation.

"Hey, I have to go. But I'll talk to you later, okay?" I said. Kat nodded, smiling, the usual spring in her step on her way out. I put that conversation in the back of my mind in order to come back to it later, just in case it came up again. I turned to the door that headed outside and walked into the rain, needing to get away from all the people and the drama they carried.

The rain drenched my hair, and plastered it to my face. My clothes were soaked through and through. Within ten minutes of standing in the downpour, I was shivering like crazy. But I didn't care. Standing in the rain always cleared my mind, it helped me think.

"Annabelle, you are going to catch your death out here. Please come inside to warm up." James grabbed my arm and pulled me inside, but I resisted him. I collapsed into the puddle, which used to be the parking lot, and began to cry into my hands.

"No, no. Please, let me stay out here. I like it out here." That was a lie, but the rain brought back memories of a younger day. James crouched down beside me and pulled my hair away from my face. I collected my thoughts and looked into James' eyes.

"Why do you like the rain so much, Annabelle?" James asked softly in my ear. He wrapped his arms around me and I fell against his chest. I beat his chest and he took it silently. The tears fell down my face as fast as the rain was falling. James hushed me and rocked me back and forth.

"I was ten when my dad died. We were driving in the rain. We were listening to 'Hakuna Matata.' That was my favorite song at that age. He was singing so loudly, we didn't hear the honking. A driver's brakes weren't working and they were heading straight at my dad's side of the car." I trailed off, but James' eyes made me continue. "It was too late to avoid the accident when we saw the driver. I had a broken arm, while my father was rushed to the hospital in urgent care." My sobs broke up my story, but I got through it. "He didn't make it through the next hour." I collapsed against James' chest and he buried his face in my wet, soaked hair. "Why am I so lucky? Why wasn't I the one that died? My dad had so much to offer, and I had nothing."

"Annabelle, baby, don't talk like that." James soothed. "Come on, you really are going to get sick." James started to help me up, but I shook my head. He crouched back down and looked at my tear stained, helpless face. "Alright, I'll take you home." James helped me up and walked me to my car. He got in the drivers' seat after helping me into mine.

James drove me home, and I watched him as I shivered in my seat. He looked somber, almost worried. The headlights on passing cars were causing his eyes to flash. It was a little creepy, yet his features were too soft, so I couldn't be afraid of him. He drove into my driveway and looked at me. I smiled and started to get out of the car, but James' sharp intake of breath stopped me. I shut the door and turned to look at James.

"I didn't know how your father died, Annabelle," he said softly. "How did you hide that from me?" James looked at me like I was crazy, but I looked down.

"I try to forget it. Sometimes it's like he was never even here at all," I answered. The tears started to streak down my face as if they were running away from something. James sighed and placed his hand on my knee. The Matter pulsed between us, the green glow lighting up the dim car.

"Annabelle, I know this is hard for you. Your dad was special to you. We won't talk about it anymore. I'm sorry. I'm just curious, that's all." James stepped out of the car and was quickly opening my door. "Anyways, we need to get you out of these clothes. You are going to get pneumonia." I reached in my pocket for my key, but realized I had forgotten it. I sighed and looked at James, who simply smiled at me.

He disappeared, leaving me alone in the rain again. I heard the lock click, and then the door opened to reveal a quite content James. I huffed, and pushed past him, heading for my room, not caring about what James had just done to get into my house.

I returned a couple of minutes later dry and warm. I had my hair twisted in a towel, with a sweatshirt and deep blue sweats. James was still near the door, so I shuffled into the living room and slumped into a chair. James looked up at the loud noise and smiled softly at me. He came and sat on the arm of my chair and hugged me to his chest.

"Don't ever give me a scare like that again!" James said sharply. His voice softened for the next part. "Listen, Annabelle. I've been thinking about you. Considering all that you have heard and learned, and your nightmare, I think I should leave you to yourself for a while. You know I lo-, well you know. But you need to mull things over." James looked down at me and kissed me on the head.

"No. Why? Don't do that-" I sneezed, and blew my nose into a tissue.

"See, you're already getting sick. Get better for this weekend, and then you can be with Kat. I'm not going to leave, I'm just going to let you think for a while." And with that, James gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, and then he was gone. I hacked into my sleeve, and looked around for any evidence of James being in the house. I knew he was probably watching me, but through the sickly fog my brain was developing, I didn't really care. The fog soon overpowered my body, and I fell asleep curled up on my chair.

I rolled over and fell to the ground. The impact woke me up and I, startled from the impact, jumped off the floor. My head felt like it was floating ten feet above my head. I staggered to the kitchen and barely got the aspirin bottle open. While shoving two in my mouth, I realized the reality, rather hell, I was living in.

James had left, though I was sure he was here, and I was so sick I couldn't complete thoughts. The latter wasn't as important, but it was still a problem. My head began to cloud again, and I headed upstairs to sleep off the sickness.

**So… Yeah… I hope you guys enjoyed… I know this chapter was weird… Or I think it was, but just stick with me for now…**

**R.S.**


	7. Chapter 6

**AAAH! So because I haven't posted in so long (sorry about that… realty kinda sucks….) I'm giving you three chapters in one sitting! YAY!**

**Enjoy!**

I was in a slump for the next day and a half, until the doorbell rang. I quickly brushed my hair, and changed into jeans. I sniffled and then opened the door to reveal an excited Kat.

She pulled me out to her car and started to the mall. "So, you should really take better care of yourself, Annabelle. You are constantly sick!" Kat looked at me and I nodded for her to keep talking. "You know out of all of us, I think James missed you the most." I looked up sharply. "Whenever you weren't there, James would stare at your spot at the lunch table like there was an emptiness in his heart. But I couldn't do anything. Then, after school he would leave without a word."

"James was at school?" Kat nodded, so I returned to looking out the window. I was wrong about James. He had gone to school and wasn't watching me all that time. I watched Kat pull flawlessly into the parking spot she had chosen, which was as close as she could possibly get to the entrance of the mall.

Kat dragged me into a store and stopped in the middle of the store. She surveyed the clothes and then turned to walk outside. I lingered for a moment, but Kat's insistent tapping of her foot made me follow her out. We went to at least five stores before Kat decided on a store. After that, Kat started to pile dresses into my arms. After piling three dresses on me, she hustled me over to the dressing rooms where I began to try on the prom dresses.

The first dress was an ugly mauve color, but I put it on anyway. As soon as I stepped into Kat's view, she gagged and pushed me back into the room. I slipped off the dress and put on the next one, but Kat dismissed that one too. As soon as I walked into the dressing room I saw the last dress. It was a strapless, simple baby blue dress with a darker blue belt. It went down to my knees, but it was a gorgeous just the same.

As soon as I stepped out of the room, Kat broke into a wide grin. She pulled me over to where the full length mirrors and pushed me into it. I looked really good. Like Kat, I broke into a smile.

"Okay, now we just need shoes, accessories, and figuring out your hair and make-up," Kat said thoughtfully. She ushered me back into the dressing room, wanting me to change back into my regular clothes in order to find shoes and accessories.

I slipped back into my jeans and sweatshirt, and walked with Kat to the shoe part of the department store. She sat me down in a chair and I laid the dress out on my lap. I watched Kat speak to a sales clerk, pointing to me a couple of times and then gesturing to the dress and her feet and a couple pairs of shoes she liked. The clerk nodded and headed off into the back room. I noticed this ache in the pit of my stomach that had slowly developed, and I wondered if I got the flu, but then I realized that Kat was talking.

"Man, I hate sales clerks! Anyways, he is going to get you a couple pairs of shoes that I think will go well with the dress. Are you okay?" Kat said.

"Yep. Just a little light headed. I'm still sick, remember?" I answered. Kat nodded, and the clerk was walking toward us with six boxes of shoes. He set them down beside me and began taking out shoes. I dismissed the first three pairs, considering the heels were over about seven inches tall. The fourth pair were simple flats, so I kept them, but the next two were high, but not as high heels. Kat dismissed the clerk and gestured for me to put on the shoes.

"Which shoes stick out to you? I'm kind of leaning towards the flats, or the second pair of heels. I think the sea green is a good accent color for the dress. And since they are both sea green, I think we should buy both, and see which one goes best." Kat smiled at me and I tried to resist her, but she jumped up and grabbed the dress and the shoes.

"Wait, Kat. I can't afford all of this. Even you know that. You know my mom has me on a tight budget right now." Kat smiled and shook her head at my complaining.

"I'll pay for the shoes, and you'll pay for the dress. It's okay. I don't mind. It is my treat today, Annabelle." Kat stopped smiling and looked behind me. She waved and then looked at me. "Someone is here to see you, Annabelle." I turned and James was standing there, a sort of sadness in his eyes.

"Kat, will you excuse us for a minute?" I asked. Kat nodded and smiled.

"Of course. I need to use the bathroom anyway." Kat wiggled her eyebrows at me, and walked out of the room leaving James and me alone for a few moments. As soon as Kat was out of sight, James pulled me into a hug.

"It's official. I'm never doing that again," he said. I looked up into his eyes and he smiled. "You are no longer aloud to _think_ alone again. Ever. Okay?" I nodded, and he kissed my forehead.

"James?"

"Yes, honey?"

"What about the Matter? Won't people notice it?" I asked. James let go, but then he grabbed on again.

"Nope. You would only notice it if you were actually looking for it." James looked down at me, and he reached to kiss me. He gave me a quick peck on the lips, and I knew he was hesitant to let up but he did anyways, before disappearing into the crowd as soon as Kat tapped me on the shoulder.

"What did he want?" She asked. I sighed and turned to her.

"He just wanted to make sure I was feeling better. So, do you want to go to lunch now? Or we could go back to my house for lunch?" I asked, but Kat reluctantly shook her head.

"Look, Annabelle, I know it was supposed to be our day, but I kind of have a date with Matt, so I have to go. But today was fun. I'll see you Monday!" Kat said quickly. And then she was gone. I picked up the shoes and the dress and bought it. Then, I walked out of the store, realizing I didn't have a ride home.

"Need some help with those bags?" I heard James' soft voice said. I turned and James grabbed the bags and still was able to wrap his arm around my waist. He pulled me closer and I put my face into his shirt. "Want to go to lunch?" James asked. He walked me to the food court, but I shook my head. "Do you want to go home?" I nodded, so James walked me to his car.

I fell asleep in his car, but when I woke up we had been in my driveway for over an hour. I flinched, but James' warm touch calmed me down. He picked me up and carried me to the couch in the living room, where he laid me down with my head in his lap. James stroked my hair out of my face and kissed me on the forehead. I didn't fall asleep again, but I kept my eyes closed, trying not to flinch when James would stroke the hair out of my face and his fingers would graze my ear.

A couple of hours later, I opened my eyes, and James was still looking at me in the loving way he had been earlier. I smiled at him and he leaned in for a kiss. James' lips met mine and his fingers intertwined in my hair. I wrapped my arms around his neck and smiled through the kiss. James let up and I opened my eyes. He smiled and looked down at me.

"Feeling better?" He asked with a smile on his face.

"A little. This cold hit me really hard, you know?" I answered. James nodded, and looked up out of the window.

"I am officially grounding you to this house until it gets sunny again because it is still really gloomy outside. I don't want you to get sick like that again. It killed me seeing you like that." James smiled slightly and I put my hand on his cheek.

"So you did check in on me?" I asked.

"Of course. I wasn't going to leave you alone for that long, Annabelle. I couldn't ever do that." James kissed my hand and I rolled off his lap. He looked at me like I was crazy and I smiled. I pointed at the garment bag and raised my eyebrows at him.

"Did you peek at my prom dress? Because if you did, I am going to kill you." I thought about it for a while then huffed. "Wait, no, that isn't fair," I said sarcastically. "I can't tease you like that!" I laughed for the first time in a while and James took a sarcastic deep breath.

"Annabelle, did you just laugh?" He asked, a smile playing on his face. I mocked him and stuck my tongue out. Then James' arms were wrapped around me and he was lifting me around the living room. I was laughing so much.

When James finally set me down, my stomach hurt. I flopped onto a couch and James looked at me and smiled. I hugged my knees closely to my chest and James came to sit beside me. He hugged me to his chest and I closed my eyes. He began to stroke the loose hair out of my face. He gave one last squeeze before separating from me, making me look up.

"Not to sound like an annoying boyfriend, but you do have to eat at some point. Even I know that," James said. I sighed and got up.

"Fine, I'll eat. But I don't know what I would eat, considering I haven't been to the market for a while, and we probably have no food left to eat," I said. But I sauntered over to the kitchen anyway. When I opened the fridge, I looked at James and smiled. "See, I told you." James walked up behind me and kissed me on the top of my head.

"I'm sure that I can whip something up for you, Annabelle." James looked at me and smiled. "Just sit down, you look a little pale. And blow your nose, the snot is grossing me out." James laughed, so I made a face at him. But that only made him laugh harder, so I left the kitchen to 'blow my nose.'

I watched James from the living room and shook my head. He occasionally looked at me and smiled and winked, but then went back to cooking. After about a half an hour, James emerged from the kitchen, holding a steaming plate of food.

"This was all I could really conjure up. But it should still be good." James handed me the plate of food and I looked up at him.

"If you keep making me food, I will be completely spoiled. Oh, and fat." I dug my fork into whatever James had made and then closed my eyes. "Okay, wow! What is this? This is amazing." James smiled.

"I actually don't know what it is. All I know is that I've made it before and it is really good." James looked at me and gestured to keep eating, so I did.

When I was done, I put the plate on a table beside me and got up. "I need to shower, and I need to change. I have to get this sick off of me. I'll be right back. Stay here, please, just stay right here. Don't leave, and don't come near the bathroom." James laughed.

"I'm a lot of things, Annabelle, but I'm not a perverted teenage boy." James continued to laugh and I turned around, shaking my head.

I stepped in the shower and I let the water run down my body, but the knowledge that James was in the house made me rush through my shower. I quickly dressed in my regular jeans and t-shirt. I wrapped my hair up in a towel. I walked outside to where James was reading a magazine.

"That was fast. Felling better now?" James asked. He pulled me into a tight hug and breathed in. He pulled my hair out of the towel and let it fall to my waist. "You are so beautiful with your hair down, Annabelle." James put his face in my hair and breathed in. I smiled lightly, thinking about how lucky I really was.

"James?" I asked. He nodded at me, and I looked up at him, making his head fall from my hair. "I want to talk about the nightmare with you." James lightly shook his head and looked into my eyes.

"Annabelle, I told you not to worry about it. Really, I don't think it is anything to be worried about. Okay?" I nodded, but that wasn't it.

"But James, please just-"

"Annabelle, no. Trust me, okay?" James' sternness made me be quiet about the nightmare. At that moment, I knew he was hiding something; I just didn't know what. "Alright, look, enough of this. We need to get you out of this house again. It is good for you, Annabelle. You need to do something. What do you want to do?" I looked up at James and smiled.

"Hey, didn't you just 'ground' me to this house?" James shrugged. "Fine. I don't know. We could see a movie, or go to the park." James looked at the clock.

"Alright, we will go to the movies. What should we see?" He asked, as he walked me outside to the car. "Wait, I know exactly what we will see." James smiled like that awkward moment hadn't just happened.

"Okay." I shrugged my shoulder. I laced my fingers through his, forgetting the nightmare for a few moments. "Let's go!" I laughed. James lifted my hand to his face and he kissed the top of it.

He helped me into the car, and as soon as he was in it, his hand was in mine again. I could feel the Matter, but I simply pretended it was actually James' hand. Every so often James would look over at me and smile my smile. I loved when he did that. It was so nonchalant, so beautiful. It was perfect. And he was perfect. I looked out the window and watched everything pass. The trees, bushes, the people, the other cars were just a blur in the window. In that moment, I wish I could have drawn it. James, me, the blur. It would have been perfect. The absolute perfect moment. I let myself forget that he was hiding something from me and just focused on the moment. I rolled down the window to let more air in. The May air on my face, blowing my hair back, and everything else made me content. Simply content. Not happy, nor sad. Just the right emotion.

**Two more chapters await you if you press next….**

**~R.S.**


	8. Chapter 7

**Here is your second chapter for the day…**

**Enjoy!**

When we pulled up to the movie theater, I was a little sad because the blurs were becoming real objects, bringing me back to the real world. I didn't want the allusion to go. James looked over at me, an odd sympathy filling his eyes. But I didn't see the look. I only saw behind him to where the rain was beginning to fall outside the car. I guessed my face dropped because James squeezed my hand. I looked back at him and he smiled.

"You don't really want to see a movie do you?" He asked. I shook my head apologetically and James laughed. "So, what do you want to do? I don't want you to become a vegetable in your house." I laughed silently and looked into James' eyes.

"We could go to the museum," I said. James made a face and I laughed out loud. "Just trust me for once. Go to the museum and we will end up having a lot of fun. Please?" James shook his head and shifted the car into gear.

"Okay, Annabelle. I'm trusting you, but just this once." James smiled, and reached over to kiss me, but I pushed him away.

"Later." James looked a little dejected, but I wasn't going to fall for it. I knew he was just using my 'Mortal' teenage hormones against me. "Let's go." I gestured for James to leave the parking lot and he reluctantly pulled away.

While James was driving to the museum, I turned to face out the window again. But the blurs were different this time. The colors were streaking down my window, running away from the rain. All the people were streaks of water melting into the ground. But some of the greenery was still solid. It was kind of cool, but the rain only brought me back to my dad and Wednesday. I looked down into my lap and smiled. James' hand was on the gearshift, palm up. Meeting my hand to his, James looked over and smiled. But his eyes were soon on the road again. His gorgeous eyes were being wasted on drivers that didn't even care about anyone but themselves.

James pulled up to the museum and looked over at me. "Okay, why are we here, Annabelle? I am quite curious to know," he said.

"Let's go inside. And I will show you," I answered. James got out of the car and then helped me out of the car. He paid for the tickets and then followed me to where I wanted to go. We walked to the exhibit I wanted to see, and stopped in front of a specific painting. I looked up at James and smiled. I pointed to the pointing. "Is that," I quieted my voice. "The Faraway?"

I expected James to smile and nod his head, but instead he didn't move. His features were hard, and unmoving. The usual softness was gone, as was the usual twinkle in his eyes. I saw his eyes focus in on the name written on the sign that explained the painting, inaccurately. Then, his eyes were back on the painting. James swallowed hard, and his eyes flicked to me, and then back to The Faraway.

"Annabelle," James said. His voice was so quiet that I could barely hear it. I nodded, and looked into his eyes. "We need to go now. But don't make it a big show. Just turn and walk out as if you are done in the exhibit. I will follow soon after. Just go, right now. Please." I nodded, and then turned to the door.

I walked outside and let my breath out. Without realizing it, I hadn't been breathing while walking out of the exhibit. James was at his car right when I arrived and his features were still hard, so I quickly got in the car. As soon as we were a couple miles away from the museum, James' features began to soften. Then the muttering began.

"We were so sure that he was gone. How could he be alive? I thought that… What if… I need to… I don't know what to do," James mumbled. I looked over at James to question what he was muttering and he looked over at me. "I'm sorry, Annabelle. I should explain all of this to you. Can we do it over dinner?" I nodded and James smiled. "Alright, let's go to the diner."

James turned down a residential street to go to the diner. It was getting darker, so all of the headlights were on. This caused James' eyes to flash and because he was still a little worked up; this cause a darkening in his features that was somewhat scarier than I could have imagined. The rain was still falling down, and I didn't look out the window. I looked down into my lap instead, until I heard the car turn off and James walk out of the car. I followed him closely and sat right across from him.

"What's up, James? All of this mystery is killing me. Just tell me!" I said. James shook his head.

"When we get the food," James answered.

The waitress came up and took our order. James ordered a chicken sandwich, and I ordered a hamburger. I looked at James and smiled at him softly as if to tell him to tell me what the deal was. He shook his head and looked at the approaching food. He politely thanked the waitress and dug into his sandwich. When he was sure the waitress wasn't listening to our conversation, he put down the fries he was eating.

"The artist of that painting is a name that I recognized. The name, Fredricke Camis, is the name of a Rogue. A very old Immortal Ghost name. At first I didn't recognize the name, but the painting was different than usual ones of The Faraway. Did you notice the faint bars in the front of the painting?" I nodded and James continued. "See, Fredricke always pictured The Faraway as a prison he could never escape from. Once he figured out that he could get back to the Mortal world, he didn't view it quite so horribly, but still." James paused, and I urged him to tell me more with my smile. "When Rogues see a regular Immortal Ghost, they try to 'recruit' them, for lack of a better word. They try to make the Immortal Ghosts into more Rogues so they can create a sort of an army. If all else fails, they look for Immortal Ghosts who are with Mortals. Then, they find a way to get close to the Mortal. Then they threaten the Immortal Ghost with the Mortal." I looked at James to show I had no idea what he was talking about. "Most Immortal Ghosts who are with Mortals have Possession of them. So, if the Rogues can get to the Mortals, they will most likely get to the Immortal Ghosts."

"Why does this matter so much James? It doesn't apply to you and me, does it?" James shook his head and looked down to his plate of food.

"It could possibly apply to us. That is why I wanted you to walk out of the museum separate from me. If Fredricke was there, watching, I didn't want him to know about us, or me. Because of my past, the Rogues have been trying to get me to join them since the day I entered The Faraway. However, they don't know who I really am." I nodded and James laughed. "Now that I've seen that, Annabelle, we have to be even more careful. I don't want you getting hurt, okay?" I nodded and James grabbed my hand from across the table. "It will be fine, Annabelle. Don't worry." James smiled, but I knew it was fake.

"I know, just tell me if something gets worse, please. Don't keep me out of the loop, I beg of you." James laughed, and this time it wasn't fake.

"Alright. But don't beg. You look weird." I laughed and felt at ease for the first time that night. "Anyways, finish your food. You are probably tired. You look it." James finished shoveling down his food, and waited patiently while I finished my dinner. James paid the bill and then walked me out to his car.

The way back to my house was a quiet drive. Which gave me time to think. I needed to. I needed to tell James how I was feeling about us. But that always brought me back around to Fredricke for some reason. But by the time we got home, I had nearly forgotten about Fredricke and was focusing on something else.

We walked into my living room, and James took the lead to my room. I got ready for bed, while James waited for me. Once I was ready, I laid in bed and he climbed next to me.

"James," I said quietly. He looked up at me, and I smiled lightly. "You know when you took me to your house and I said I was falling in love with you and you said that I was only in love with what you were." James smiled and nodded at the memory. I took a long pause, and James pulled me closer to encourage what I was going to tell him. "Well, I'm really falling in love this time." James laughed.

"Good. I'm tired of being the lover," he said. I laughed and looked up at him. His eyes twinkled at his smile and I pulled myself closer to him. "Does this mean I can start saying that I love you?" James asked quietly. I smiled and nodded into James' chest. "Really?" I reassured him by hugging James closer to me. "Okay. This is good news."

"Because you don't want to be my lover? And I use that term loosely, considering we aren't really lovers." James laughed and kissed me on the forehead.

"Annabelle, I was kidding about the lover thing. And it is just good." I nodded, but James continued. "You know when you are driving down a one-way street, and there is someone walking down the street the wrong way? Well, I've felt like that was me. Then, you told me this, and now I'm walking the right way." Despite my better judgment, I started to laugh. "Annabelle, that is a little insulting. Why are you laughing?"

"Because it is a funny metaphor. Love isn't a street, James. It is a, love is," I faltered. "Well, I don't really know what love is, but I just know it isn't a street." James laughed.

"Alright, fine. I guess that makes sense." James separated from me a little, and I looked up at him. "By the way, Annabelle," he paused. I nodded slightly and James smiled. "Nevermind."

"Okay, but don't think I don't know what you were about to say." I yawned and James sighed.

"No more of this. You need to go to bed. I know you haven't been getting enough sleep lately. Don't try and lie to me, either. I know that you haven't been sleeping well. Trust me, I know." James uncurled me, and laid me down on my pillow. He lay down next to me, and I rolled over onto his chest.

Forgetting, I expected to hear, and feel, his heartbeat, but when I didn't I sighed. He stroked the hair out of my eyes and kissed the top of my head. "I know. It is weird not hearing anything," he said quietly. I shook my head.

"I just forget sometimes, you know?" I asked. James laughed a little, and stroked my cheek.

"It is a good thing, Annabelle. It means you are getting used to all of this. I mean, me, and everything that comes along with me." I curled my knees to my chest, and James lifted my chin to look at him.

He leaned down and his lips met mine. I took my hand off of my knees, and wrapped my hand around the back of James' neck. He started to move his lips to my neck, but then he stopped.

"I'm sorry, too soon, right? I just forget," James said, but even so, I kept my hand on the back of his neck, and he kept his lips near my neck. I closed my eyes, and felt the warmth the Matter was providing. Just as I was touching the edge of sleep, I hear James whisper, "I love you, Annabelle." And then I was asleep.

I slept better that night, curled up in James' arms. The nightmare didn't visit me, and I didn't have to face Averie's face smiling at me devishly. It was like he was in my head, pushing the nightmare away when it came to haunt me. In my sleep, I then realized it wasn't James who was keeping the nightmare away. It was me, and how happy I was.

James stirred and I opened my eyes. He smiled at me and kissed me on the cheek. "Time to wake up, Sleeping Beauty. It is almost noon," James said. I looked over at the clock, and saw that he was right. But I shook my head and curled back up to James' chest. "Annabelle," he laughed. "I'm serious. You have to get up. Kat keeps calling you for some reason. She has called you four times in the last hour." My phone rang right on cue. "See?"

I sat up and grabbed my phone. "Hello?" I said groggily.

"Annabelle, hi. You'll never guess what just happened to me. I was eating breakfast with my sister, you know, Meagan? Well, she was all," And Kat was off. I completely droned her out with zoning out. But James was a good distraction from Kat's ranting about Meagan. He was sitting right next to me, staring at me. Not in a creepy, stalkerish way, but in an "I love you so much" kind of way.

After about three minutes, I zoned back into the phone conversation, knowing Kat would almost be done with her story. "So, then, I told her I was never going to talk to her again, and she said that was fine with her, and now I don't know what to do because I didn't mean it." I sighed at Kat's story. I knew what had happened in the middle, because this argument had occurred before.

"Kat, the first thing you have to do is calm down. Everything is going to be okay," I began. I heard her nod, as if I could see it. "Now, go apologize to Meagan, and yes, I know you don't want to be the first one to, but she will apologize afterwards. Okay? Text me afterwards." Kat hung up the phone without a goodbye, and I closed my cell phone, sighing.

"What is wrong, Annabelle?" James asked. I looked up at him and smiled.

"Nothing, James. Why would you ask that?" James laughed, and he took my hand in his. The Matter warmed my hand and I resisted staring at it.

"You know that you really can't lie to me, right? I know everything about you," James said. I smiled and looked down, and looked up to see James less than an inch away from me. "But, I also know that I shouldn't push you to tell me stuff." James' voice was barely audible. I was breathing heavily, and James wrapped his hand around the back of my head. He leaned in, and at the last moment, he kissed my forehead.

I cleared my throat, and James looked down at me. "I'm, um, hungry," I said. But immediately, I regretted it because James let me go and turned out of my room. I followed and walked into the kitchen. I sat on the counter in my usual place, only to watch James open the fridge and smile.

"Looks like someone went to the market for us," James said, taking a few ingredients out of the fridge.

"Mom went to the market? That's weird. She never goes to the market," I said. James turned towards me and stepped beside me. He took my hand in his and he kissed it.

"She's trying, Annabelle. She really is. And although she is never home when you are up, whenever she comes home, she checks on you when she does get home. No always, but sometimes. Maybe you should give her a chance when she actually is home." James let go of my hand, and went back to his cooking.

"Fine, but she never is home." James gave me a look, and I smiled. "But I'll give her a chance." James nodded.

I watched him glide over the kitchen floor going back and forth between his ingredients, and the stove. Every so often James would look over at me and smile. That would make me smile, and then he would just smile bigger, and then turn back to the food, shaking his head.

A warm plate landed in my lap and I looked down. James had created the ultimate omelet for me. His omelet had tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, and three different types of cheese in it. I took one bite and started to shovel the rest of the omelet into my mouth. James slowed me by holding my hand with the fork in it.

"Slow down, Annabelle. You are going to give yourself indigestion." James let go of my hand and then I slowed my eating, but I was still eating pretty quickly. "You do not take direction very well, do you?" I shook my head and James laughed. "I guess I should know that already, huh?" I nodded. I would have laughed, but I couldn't because my mouth was full of his delicious omelet.

I finished quickly, and James put the plate in the sink. I hopped off the counter and looked up at James. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me in close, my brown hair tickling the bottom of his arm. The Matter was vibrating between us, but for once, I wasn't thinking about that. James pulled my closer and leaned in to kiss me. But I reluctantly resisted his kiss.

"What?" He asked. "What's wrong?"

I shook my head and smiled. "Nothing is wrong, it's just that ever since we have become closer, every time we kiss, it goes a little too far. I just want to wait a little while until I decide about my feelings," I said.

"But I thought you said-"

"I know that's what I said, but just for now, please just wait. For me." James let me go a little, but not enough for me to move.

"Annabelle, I get it. Don't worry about it." But even so, before James let me go all of the way, he gave me a quick kiss on the lips. James headed over to the couch, and patted the spot next to him. I sat next to him and leaned into him. "Alright, you have homework to do, Annabelle. I'm not letting you slack off of school. Just because I do, doesn't give you permission to." I laughed and looked into James' eyes.

"Funny, James. But trust me, I'm safe for now. I'm basically done for this year. I only have one week left and then I'm a senior. Hey, but prom comes first." James laughed and kissed me on top of the head.

"Prom is going to be quite the night," James said. I looked up at him questioningly and he smiled. "I just mean because it is the first night we will go public as a couple. Plus, Kat is going to have the night of her life."

"Why?"

"Because I think Luke is going to tell her." I looked up, jaw dropped. "I know, you thought it would never happen. But I think he is going to tell her. Maybe I should talk to him."

"I don't think that would be the best thing right now. Luke doesn't really like you. He thinks that you are stealing Kat away from him."

"Does he know that Kat was even close to him? You should talk to him." I looked at James with my eyebrows raised. "You guys have been friends since pre-school. He respects you, Annabelle."

"I'll try, but no promises." James smiled and flipped on the television. He was flipping channels, and I closed my eyes while James decided on a channel. I don't know how he could have known what was even on the T.V. because he flipped the channel after only being on it for only a half of a second. The Matter pulsated between us, and it was a little mesmerizing. I started to fall asleep to its beat, but then James decided on a channel. I cracked an eyeball, only to see a Scooby Doo episode. "James? Really, Scooby Doo?"

James laughed and he wiped the hair out of my eyes. "It was the only good thing on. I'm not going to sit around the house all day doing nothing. And now we are talking about it, giving us something to do." I was confused by this, so I sat up and turned to face James.

"Alright, fine. It is sunny outside, so why don't we go outside. We could have a picnic, or just be outside for a change." James made a face and shook his head vigorously.

"Or we could draw." He raised his eyebrows and flipped off the T.V. James picked me up and carried me up to my room where he took out a piece of paper for himself and handed me one. Then, he grabbed two pencils and tossed one to me, keeping one for himself.

I closed my eyes and envisioned what I wanted to draw. My hand started to move and I opened my eyes. I wasn't thinking about what I was drawing and I wasn't looking. James' hand was moving as quickly as mine. I focused on the sound of the pencils scratching on the papers, and I watched James' hand. He was watching mine, and as my eyes wandered up his body, our eyes met.

After about an hour of my hand flying across the paper, I stopped, letting my hand slow. I looked down at my paper, having only glanced at it a couple of times. James stopped too, but I hardly noticed. I had drawn something that I had never thought to draw. James touched my thigh and I looked up. His eyes were soft, questioning even. They looked into mine, as if he was seeing into my soul. I looked back down at my drawing and shut my eyes tightly. This couldn't be right. I shook my head. I wouldn't draw something like this.

"Annabelle, sweetheart, what's wrong?" James asked. He shook his head, and a sad grin played on his lips. "Feels like I'm saying that a lot, but really tell me, honey."

"My drawing. It's the, but I didn't mean to. How did I… I wasn't even paying any… Just wait for the… and don't get mad." All of my sentences were broken and James looked down.

Slowly, James pried the paper out of my hands and swiveled it to look at it. He stared at it for a few moments, which felt like years to me, and then he looked back up at me. My face was in my hands, and I was ashamed that I hadn't stopped myself from drawing that.

"Annabelle, is this?" I looked up, only barely, and James showed me the drawing. "Honey, is this the, um, the nightmare?" I nodded and James put the painting down.

I looked at it again, and I couldn't stop myself from shaking. It was James. I had drawn James sitting in a chair. But, it wasn't just any chair. It was the chair from the nightmare. And not only was James sitting in the chair, he was bound by some sort of rope. There were also figures advancing from every side towards the front of the drawing. I didn't know why I had drawn this, but I did, and that was that. I dropped my hands away from my face and looked at James. He was staring at the drawing as well, and I reached out to him, but he was just far enough away that I couldn't reach him. James looked up and he gave me a slight smile.

"I'm sorry, James. I didn't mean to. I didn't really have control. I wasn't even watching. I didn't mean to hurt you if I did, and I'm sorry, but please just forgive me-" James interrupted me by pushing into me.

His lips pressed against mine, and his arms supported my back as he pushed against me harder. But I couldn't take my mind off of the drawing, and I could tell that he couldn't either. I could tell that James was a little disconnected, so when I pushed him off, he didn't look surprised.

"It's fine, Annabelle. I want you to know that this is fine. You just have a lot on your mind. Honey, calm down. It will be okay." James tightened his grip on me and pulled me closer. I curled into James' chest and opened my eyes. I focused in on James' drawing and smiled. I dismissed my drawing for a while and then I picked up the drawing.

"James?" I said quietly.

"What, Annabelle?"

"Why did you draw this?" I held up the drawing and he smiled. James kissed me on the top of my head and he took the paper out of my hand.

"You know exactly why I drew it. My turn for questions." I nodded lightly, still focusing on the picture. He had drawn me, but it was the present. It was me drawing, my hand a blur, and my eyes glazed over with focus. "Why do I love you so much that I can't focus when you're not around? You should have seen me when you weren't at school." I laughed a little and James jostled me around playfully. "I'm not joking."

"James, even I can't answer that question and you know that. And you have to at least pretend to focus. Kat is a little suspicious of us." James laughed. "It isn't funny. This could ruin our friendship." James was silent for a little while and then he took a deep breath.

"She's fine with it. She is really happy with Matt. I don't know why. From what I heard, he is kind of a jerk." James smiled like he knew exactly what was going on with Kat and Matt.

"Oh my god, James, did you just listen into their conversation?" I laughed and James nodded, shyly.

"They are hanging out together. Like us." James pulled me to his chest and rocked me a little. "But there is one difference." I looked up and James smirked a little. "I actually like you, whereas Matt is playing Kat." My features hardened, and I tried to reach my phone, but James held me tightly. "Annabelle, I'm kidding." James laughed, but I frowned at him. He held me closer, so close I thought I was going to Pass Through him. But I didn't. The Matter held its own and kept me from blacking out.

It was almost six o'clock and I grabbed James' hand. I looked up at him from my homework, and bit my lip and smiled. "James," I said. He looked up and smiled. "The Mortal over here needs some food." James laughed and intertwined our fingers.

"Want to go out?" James asked. I nodded, and James stood up. "Where should we go, then?" I stood up as well, and shrugged.

"We could go to the café down the street from the movie theatre." James nodded and led me down the stairs to the front door. I unhooked my jacket from the closet, but when I turned around, James didn't look like he was ready to go. "What is wrong, James?"

"Before we go." James grabbed my waist and pulled me close to him, the Matter vibrating between us. Before I could think about it, James was on me. Not literally, but his lips were crushed against mine. He pushed me against the wall, and I stopped trying to resist him. James' hand moved from my waist to the back of my neck, molding my shape even more to James'. Just when I thought he was going to wrap my legs around his hips, James let up from my neck.

His lips were still grazing my neck, and he still had my body pressed against his. James breathed in and kissed my neck before moving his lips to my ear, whispering, "Ready to go now?"

I swallowed and slowly nodded my head. James slowly separated from my ear, but let me go even slower. James slowly let his hand drift from my neck to my back, and then his hands slowly separated from my waist. I took a deep breath and turned towards the front door. I was breathing hard, and I could barely see. I didn't want James to separate from me, but we couldn't go to far. At least not yet.

**One more chapter to go, and then you can review…. Just press next…**

**~R.S.**


	9. Chapter 8

**Last chapter for the day… Sad, I know. I promise I won't keep y'all waiting though….**

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"James?" I said, as I was falling asleep.

"Yes, honey?" He answered, his voice soft, soothing.

"Do you want to change me?" James shifted under me. "I mean, do you want to make me an Immortal Ghost? I won't be mad or anything. I just want to know." James took a deep breath and I rolled over to see him.

"Well, I want to be able to hold your hand without anything between us, yes. And I want to be able to kiss you without having to worry about keeping the Matter between us." I nodded my head and rolled back over. "However," he continued. "I want you to have the best life ever. So, I'm in no hurry to have you as an Immortal Ghost."

I yawned and James flipped off the lamp. "But I only have a year and a half before I would lose my soul."

James kissed the top of my head and stroked my arm with his hand. "And we will cross that bridge when we come to it, okay?" I nodded and curled in James' body to fall asleep.

_"There is one more matter we need to discuss here," Averie said. The crowd began to stir and she silenced them with one look. "The girl. He loves her too much and would do anything for her. So, how do we get her out of the picture?" The crowd stirred again and this time, she didn't silence them. _

_ "Kill her!" One of the people said to her. _

_ "Use her as bait for the guy!" Another one said. _

_ "That could work. Not the killing. The killing would push him away. But the bait thing. Good idea, Fredricke." That very name pierced the silence, and pierced me. I knew that name. It was not a good name, either. I took a deep breath and turned to run. I couldn't. _

_ Averie turned to face me, or what I thought was me, and walked right through me. It was as if I was watching something I shouldn't be. Averie stopped and turned back through the crowd and smiled deviously. When I turned to look at her, she was in the hallway with the tan walls and maroon colored rugs. I knew this hallway, and this was not a hallway I enjoyed. _

_ "Look, people. We have to figure out how to get her to us.__It would be nice if she trusted me, but I think she doesn't like me very much." It was then that it fully computed that I was the girl they were all talking about. It all made sense now. They wanted James to join some sort of group, maybe even a cult. _

_ Fredricke stepped forward and looked at Averie with one eyebrow raised. "What if we took James, or a form of James and used him to get the girl? We could even pretend to have him. She loves him too much to let him be captured by us. The girl would do anything for him."_

_ Averie nodded, and smiled at Fredricke. "Good idea, Fredricke. This is why you keep us around." He laughed and turned back into the crowd. _

_ I realized then that this is the nightmare. They were planning the nightmare out right before my eyes. But this time, I knew that the James in the chair wasn't the one I loved. He was a trick and a fake James. But if I knew this in the nightmare, why was I so eager to go help him? Then I came back to the real world. _

_ Fredricke was a good-looking man, too. He had brown hair, but it was a dark brown. Fredricke had dark, dark brown eyes, the color almost fading into the blackness of his pupils. His skin was a gorgeous dark tan color. He was wearing a black button down and black jeans. If I hadn't known that he was an Immortal Ghost, I would have thought that he was twenty-five, maybe thirty. _

_ Averie was staring at me, watching me like she knew I was there. Then she stepped towards me. I tried to run, but my legs wouldn't let me. I fell to my knees trying to move, but it didn't matter. _

I moved my legs trying to run out of the nightmare. I hit something and I heard someone groan a little. Then something was shaking me to get out of that room with Averie and Fredricke.

"Annabelle, Annabelle! Wake up. What is going on? Annabelle," James' voice pulled me out of my sleep and I opened my eyes. He flicked on the lamp and I rubbed my eyes like a little kid. "Honey, what was that? Is everything all right? Was it the nightmare again?"

I didn't want James to know about the new addition to the nightmare because I knew he would try to pass it off as nothing. "Yes, it was the same nightmare," I said through my sleep stupor. I thought that James would question my lie, but instead he gently stroked the hair out of my face and he put my head to my chest, knowing the Matter relaxed me. I closed my eyes, and James began to stroke my arm like he had before.

"Annabelle." I opened my eyes to show I was listening to James. "It is time to wake up, you know that right?" I nodded and closed my eyes again. "You have to go to school now." I groaned and James laughed.

"Alright. Fine. Here I go. I'm getting up." But I didn't move. I couldn't. Every move I made reminded me of the nightmare. I got up anyway. James' arm thumped against the bed as it slid off of my back. I reached for my jeans, and a purple tank top, and I walked to the bathroom. As I hoisted the jeans over my hips, I heard James rustling through some papers. "What are you doing?" I looked out of the bathroom and saw James staring at my drawing. "James, I thought you let it go."

"I did. Just something is off. This isn't exactly me." I thought back to the nightmare, and realized that of course it didn't match exactly. This was because it wasn't actually James. I wasn't ready for James to know this yet, until I had figured out why I had had that dream about Averie.

"Look, James, it is _just_ a drawing. Of course it doesn't look exactly like you." James pressed his lips together and shook his head. I began to think that James was suspicious of my nightmare.

"It is just too different. But you're right. It is just a drawing. I'm probably wrong." I slipped on a sweater, and ran my fingers through my hair. Then I began to head downstairs. "Wait, that's it. That is all you are going to do." I nodded.

"What is wrong with it?" I looked down at my outfit and smiled. "Oh, is it the jeans? You hate them, don't you? I think they are fine."

"At least roll them up. You look frumpy like that." James was whining and I found it somewhat cute. I put my leg on my bed and began to roll my jeans. I rolled both legs to my knees and then stood up. James was behind me and he wrapped his arms around my waist. "It was a good frumpy, Annabelle," James said through my hair. He kissed my neck and I turned to face him.

"I know. But let's go. We are going to be late if we don't leave, like, now." I laughed through James' kiss. And then shook him off of me and ran down the stairs. James linked his hand with mine and we headed to the door.

"Wait, no breakfast?" James stopped me before he opened the door and I smiled.

"Nah, I'm not that hungry." He laughed and pulled me out the door. "Wait, we still can't drive to school together, James. I have to drive alone."

James pulled me closer and then let me go. "No. I'm done pretending that we aren't a thing. We are going to go together, and then say I picked you up. It is the romantic thing to do. Come on."

I got in the car and watched while James climbed into the driver's seat and he started the car. I looked outside, but instead of the watery blurs, they were just blurs. James turned on the radio, but I drowned out all of the noise. I just wanted to go back to the moment when the rain was falling and we were driving and I was happy. I didn't know why but I couldn't go back to it. I concluded that it was because there was too much on my mind because of the nightmare. I thought back to Averie and Fredricke and the crowd. My mind wouldn't let me concentrate because it couldn't figure out why I had had the nightmare.

"Annabelle, I lied to you," James said. I looked up.

"What, you don't love me? Because please don't tell me that. With all of the new stuff I have been learning, I can't handle that." James smiled and shook his head, but always kept his eyes on the road, the sunshine making his eyes sparkle. "Then what is it?"

"Averie doesn't run really fast, or know why she is connected with people. That would be a stupid Immortal Ghost power. She can put images in your head. Like in dreams. Averie can project images into people's head. Which is why I think you saw her in your nightmare." I looked out the window again and nodded my head. "What, no answer?"

"No, I'm just thinking. Why would you lie to me then?" I asked. James turned into the school parking lot.

"Because I was protecting you. Averie only projected herself in your nightmare so I would go to The Faraway. I think Fredricke is holding something against her in order to get me to The Faraway. Fredricke wants to recruit me to be a Knave. I can't have that right now. I lied to you _because_ I love you, Annabelle. I didn't want you to worry about me."

"James, I'm always worried about you. I'm worried about us and that you wish I was like you and you'll kill me for it. I'm also worried that the Knaves will capture you, and I'll never see you again. But I'm not worried that Fredricke will get you to become a Knave. You would lose your soul, and I feel like you love me too much to do that. So promise not to lie, and trust that you can protect me with all the lies." I was babbling, and we needed to get out of the car, so I held the tears in that wanted to come out.

James looked around and made sure that no one was watching. He pulled me into a hug and kissed my neck. "Annabelle, I'm sorry. Okay, no more lies. I'm really sorry, but we have to go to school. Come on, let's go." I composed myself and then stepped out of the car. "Let the couple stuff begin." James wrapped his arm around me and I looked up at him. He looked so relaxed with his arm around me, like it was meant to be.

When we stepped into the hallway, Luke looked up at us. He nodded towards us, and Kat turned around. She smiled, and James held me closer. "Let the crap from Kat begin." James laughed and he kissed me on the top of my head.

"Annabelle, hey. With James, wow. Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" Luke asked. Kat looked over at him like he shouldn't have said that, but I separated from James.

"What's up?" I asked as I was heading towards Luke. James started to talk to Kat, in order to keep up appearances but I knew he was listening to Luke and my conversation.

"James? Really? I thought that we didn't like him." Luke looked at me with pleading eyes, and looked over at Kat.

"Look, Luke, I know that you are worried that Kat is falling in love with him, and I shouldn't be saying this, but she is happier with Matt than she would be with James. And hey, on prom night, don't tell her that you like her. I just want you to know that she probably won't reciprocate. But don't get all upset. She'll come around in time." Luke looked down at is feet and nodded. I had just loaded a ton of information on her, not meaning to.

"I'm not going to give up, don't worry. And you have my best friend blessing to date James. And thanks for giving me hope for Kat." Luke walked back over to James and Kat as the first bell was ringing. I walked back over to James and he put his mouth to my ear. He made it look like he was flirting, but then he spoke to me non-flirtatiously.

"False hope for Luke, really?" He whispered. He grabbed my hand, and gave me a peck on the lips. "I have to get to class, see you later." James held my hand for as long as he could, and then let go, letting my hand drop to my side. I liked that we were public now, it was nice to know that Luke was okay with it.

"Annabelle!" Kat said, linking arms with me. I waved a quick goodbye to Luke and Kat and I started down the hallway to school. "Does he know we have class together right now? Or was he just trying to be the perfect boyfriend?" I laughed and nodded.

"Probably just being the perfect boyfriend." Kat giggled, and patted my arm.

"I'm so happy that you went public. Now I can stop imagining you with him, and know it, see it even." I smiled, and looked at her. "Maybe we should double. You know, you and James, and me and Matt. It would be so much fun." She took a break and then added, "After prom of course." I smiled and faced her as we got to the classroom.

"I'll talk to James about it." And then I headed into class to sit right next to James. He scooted his desk as close as it would go to mine, and we talked all through English. "Kat wants to double."

"Maybe. I'll think about it. Why did you give Luke false hope about Kat?" James whispered. I shook my head.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"By the way, the science teacher isn't here. You have a substitute today." I looked at him.

"Why does that matter?"

"I don't know, I just thought you should know and you didn't want me to stop talking so you didn't have to listen to the lecture." James looked forward and scribbled something in his notebook so it seemed he was taking notes. "Class is almost over. Art is next, are you excited?"

"Why would I be? Is something important going on?" James nodded and looked at the clock.

"If you count the results of the national art competition as important, than yes, something important is going on." I gasped, and touched his arm.

"You so won, James. I can't wait!" The bell rang and James got up. He wrapped his arm around me as we walked to art. People were watching which made James smile and hug me closer.

"James, James, James," Mrs. Ronalds said as James and I walked into the classroom. He released me in order to talk to her and I headed to my easel. We were both done with our art projects for the semester so we drew freely most of the time, but I was afraid to draw now. I thought if I drew, I would draw the new nightmare, or the old one and people would get suspicious.

I watched James smile, and nod his head. Mrs. Ronalds would smile, and then she would gesture around, which made him glance over at me and raise his eyebrows. I would laugh at that. Finally, James made his way over to me, grinning ear to ear. He sat down and ignored me for a while until Mrs. Ronalds quieted down the class to announce James' win.

"Class, class!" She said. Everyone looked at her and she waited until everyone was quiet to speak again. "We have a winner in our midst." Everyone looked around. "James, will you stand up please?" He did. "James has won a national art competition and now they are submitting it to an international art contest where if he wins, he will get a very nice prize. So congratulate him if you see him around the halls. And try harder in order to get your art into a national competition." Everyone clapped, and I laughed that she turned James' win into an art lesson. Everyone got to work, and James started to draw, so I watched his hand slide along the paper.

It was swift and a complete blur. The lines he left on the paper were irregular at first, and then they began to take shape. He was drawing cars and groups of people clustered together speaking. But then, the middle of the picture was blank. When the bell rang, the middle of the drawing was still blank, but the rest was done. It was of a parking lot. James grabbed my hand instead of wrapping his arm around me and kissed the top of my head.

"James, what is the drawing going to be of?" I asked. James smiled and shook his head. We were walking down the hall to my P.E. class, while James had music, and then lunch.

"Guess you will have to wait for next art class to find out," James answered. We got to my hallway and James reluctantly let go of my hand again.

"Really, really? James, come on!" He smiled and shook his head. "Dude, just gonna leave me hanging?" James nodded and laughed. I walked down the hall and turned to see James walking away, and smiling. Probably laughing that I just called him 'dude.'

I went to P.E. and when the bell rang, I was relieved. P.E. had always been my least favorite class. I quickly changed out of my P.E. clothes and then rushed to lunch.

Luke was already there sitting with Jessie, and Kat was there with Matt. I'd never spent a lot of time with Matt. I only had one class with him, and even then, I almost never talked to him. Walking forward, Kat waved me over and Luke smiled at me. I sat down right as James sat next to me. He kissed me on the cheek, and then James turned to his food like a normal teenage boy would. Little did everyone know that wasn't it at all.

"So, you guys," Kat began. We all looked up from our food and she smiled at the attention. "Four and a half more days until prom, and then we are officially seniors! That is pretty exciting. Come on, you guys. At least look like you are excited. Being a senior is a big thing."

"I don't really see the big deal in being a senior," I said, through a mouthful of food. "I mean, we graduate and then go off to college and go through four more years of hell."

"Annabelle, it is a big deal because we are ending an important chapter in our lives and starting new ones," Jessie chipped in.

"Yeah. Jessie's got a point. I was just going to say that senior year is really important," Kat said. She smiled and we both started laughing at Kat's stupidness. "Well, James, it is great you get to spend senior year here. With the best seniors ever!" Kat smiled at James and Matt eyed him.

"Yes, I'm happy I am here too." James looked at me, and scooted me closer to him. "Mostly because of my new friends." James kissed me on the lips and then whispered into my ear, "Rather, one of my new friends." I giggled and Luke sighed at us.

"Dude, look. You need to stop all of the googly, good boyfriend stuff. It is making me sick." He turned to Jessie and smiled. "Not that I wouldn't do that for you if you wanted." Jessie scrunched up her nose and shook her head. "Oh, good. That would be weird for the both of us." Jessie laughed, which made Luke smile.

"Sorry, Luke. I'll try to refrain from the shameless flirting, but no promises," James said. He separated a little from me, but kept his hand on the small of my back, to let me know he loved me, and he was there for me. Once I finished my lunch, James pushed the rest of his food away. Everyone else was done and Luke went off with Jessie and her friends, leaving Kat, James, Matt, and I alone at the lunch table.

"Annabelle, do you want to meet before prom so we can get our hair, make up, and nails done?" Kat asked me, breaking the silence between us. I flicked my eyes toward James and he nodded subtly.

"Yes, sure. I would like that. What time should I meet you?" Kat shrugged. "Well, prom starts at nine, so maybe we should meet at twelve. Just to give us a lot of time to get ready." Kat smiled and nodded.

"Prom is going to be so much fun. Right, Matt?" Kat turned to Matt, but he wasn't listening. He had completely zoned out and was checking out another girl. "Matt," Kat said firmly. Matt flinched and faced her again.

"Yeah, prom is going to be awesome," Matt said. Kat and I both looked surprised that Matt could even answer the question. We both didn't believe that Matt was listening. "Kat, can we go? We are both done with lunch and I'm done with sitting here doing nothing." Kat nodded and they got up. I watched as Matt and Kat walked out of the cafeteria and I turned back to James.

"I hate that guy. He treats Kat like she is nothing. Plus, he is going to break her heart one day and I am going to be left to pick up the pieces. Trust me. It has happened before." James smiled.

"You are a good friend. Do you know that?" James kissed me on the lips, and then popped up. "Come on, this cafeteria smells like hell." We walked out of the cafeteria right as the bell rang. "I have to get to class. See you after school?" I nodded and we headed our separate ways.

I had science next, and when I walked into the classroom, there was a substitute there just as James had said. I looked at him and he turned around and smiled at me. He looked young, but at the same time, he looked like he knew so much more than his age. The teacher introduced himself as Mr. F. He looked familiar to me, and every time someone had looked familiar to me they had turned out to be and Immortal Ghost from a dream. But that didn't seem like a possible answer when he was interacting with people and it didn't seem awkward at all.

"Do you want to get out of here?" James whispered in my ear, drowning out the rest of the noise in the parking lot, while Kat was taking a break from talking. I looked up at him and smiled.

"Yes please. If Kat tells me another story, I might die," I answered. I turned to Kat and she smiled like she was getting ready to tell me another story. "Kat, we have to go. But I will see you tomorrow?" She sighed and slowly nodded. "Okay, bye!" I got in the car, and James smiled.

"Where to?" James asked. I looked at him and shrugged my shoulders.

"I don't know, but I have a lot of homework. We should go home." James nodded and turned towards my house.

I watched his eyes flick back and forth between the road and me. Every time he looked at me, James would show me my favorite half smile. It was about four thirty, and the sun was already sinking in the sky. James looked at the clock, as he pulled into my driveway. He looked at me and smiled. I watched him walk around the car and open my door. I stepped out and laced my arms around his neck. James smiled.

"Always such a gentleman," I said. James laughed and wrapped his arms around my waist. His lips pressed against mine and he slowly walked backwards, taking me with him. We hit my door and he let up.

"Homework time," James said. I moaned and he smiled as I separated from him to grab my keys. "What do you have that would take so much time this evening?" James asked. I twisted my lips and thought about my day.

"Science. The sub gave me a lot of homework. Man, I don't think anyone has listened to a substitute like that before. It was like he was mesmerizing them. James, you should have seen them. It was amazing. Mr. F. was amazing with those kids. And then when he handed out the homework, no one groaned or complained about it," I said. "Now that I think back on it, it wasn't a good thing. It was strange and unusual."

"Okay, I just asked how much homework you had, not your science life story." James laughed and I smacked him on the shoulder. I finally fumbled the door open and James followed me inside and he gently pushed the door to latch. I yawned from the Monday craziness and James swooped me up in his arms and walked with me upstairs, backpack and all. I squealed and clung tight to James, my fingers laced around his neck. He plopped me down on my bed and I smiled. "You were tired. No need to waste energy on movement." James gave me a quick wink and I looked up into his eyes.

"Warn me next time before you do that," I said. "I almost had a heart attack."

"No you didn't. Your heart is fine. Trust me, I can hear it." I huffed and leaned back on my pillows.

"Next you are going to tell me that you know a vampire who asked you if they can suck my blood." I heard James begin to chuckle and then he started to laugh harder. I propped myself on my elbows and looked up at him. His whole body was shaking. "What is so funny?"

"Annabelle, please," James began through his laughter. "Vampires aren't real. That is just a silly myth."

I scowled. "Ghosts are supposed to be myths too, and yet… Here you are." James sat beside me and gently swept the hair out of my eyes. The gesture was simple, yet his eyes were loving, and adorable. "But I'm glad you are here," I added quietly, but I knew James could hear me. He leaned down and kissed me on the forehead, his warm lips warming me inside out.

But his lips didn't stop there. They traveled along my nose where he kissed the tip of it and then his lips moved on to my mouth. They crushed against mine and then they moved down to my neck. I didn't stop him this time. I let James kiss my neck and then his hands traced circles in my back. His hands roamed to the top of my jeans and the bottom of my shirt. James let up and I opened my eyes. He sat back up and then turned away. He plopped my backpack next to me and smiled. I sat back up and twisted my lips.

"What's wrong?" I asked. James kissed me on the forehead and chuckled softly.

"Nothing. Self control, remember? It is too soon, remember?" I nodded and unzipped my backpack to pull out my science book. It thudded into my lap and James laughed. "How long will this take you?" I shrugged my shoulders and James smiled. "Fine. While you do your homework, I'm gonna cook you dinner." I shook my head. "Fine, we'll order in."

"Good. You are not aloud to cook for me until it is summer."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to be spoiled anymore. Go. Pick between pizza and Chinese. But don't cook anything." James laughed and headed downstairs, shaking his head. I opened my science book and started to read, but I couldn't focus. Now that I had reflected on science class, it was strange how much everyone focused. It was as if the sub had a power over the students that nobody noticed. But I shook it off, knowing it was all in my head.

James walked back into my room and sat down beside me. I slammed the book closed and kissed him. "I'm slacking off tonight." James lay down on my bed and I lay against him. James stroked the hair out of my eyes and I tried to get over the fact that he was warm when it was only the Matter. I tried to remember that James was below zero. But I couldn't. The warmth that the Matter provided was almost hypnotic to me.

The doorbell was the only thing that would have kept me up. James got up from underneath me, and I reluctantly followed in order to eat my dinner to go to bed against James. I wanted to go back to the moment when I was just lying there.

I quickly gobbled down my pizza, and I slowed when James was staring at me, smiling to himself. I smiled and threw the crust at him. James took a bite out of it, and then he put it on my plate. I laughed at his sarcasm, and then James picked me up again. But this time, he flopped me onto the couch. He sat beside me, and wrapped his arm tightly around my shoulders.

"You have to wait for your food to digest before you can go to bed," James said. I laughed, and smacked him in the chest. James smirked at me, and I closed my eyes as I nestled my head in his neck. James smelled like pizza, but more distinctly, he smelled amazing and he smelled as good as he looked.

I waited ten minutes before peeking at the clock. It read 9:30, and although it was early, I stirred against James. He sighed and picked me up and I watched my room slowly approach. I tried to stay awake longer than I did, but everything stirring in my head, mixed with the Matter, caused me to fall asleep quickly. Before I did, I kissed James on the cheek and bit my lip.

"What?" James asked, smiling at me through the darkness.

"James," he raised an eyebrow and urged me on with his smile. "I, um, I love you." I smiled at James, and he smiled back. He pulled me to his lips and separated, smiling.

"I love you, too," James whispered. He let me snuggle up to his chest, letting the Matter relax from my decision to reveal my true feelings to James. "I really do," James finished, as I slowly fell asleep to the Matter.

**Okay, so you should review… But you should also look forward to the fact that James POV is next and I like looking into his mind….**

**Love always…**

**~R.S.**


	10. Author Note

Hey… So here's the thing… If you put your works up on the internet, you no longer have copyright rights to the work so I decided to stop putting chaps of WTTF up.

I know that some of you may be mad, but I really love this story and I don't really like the idea that I may have to face the fact that someone is using it as their own.

I also don't really like the idea of people reading my work before it is really done… I say this because a writer's work is never really finished.

I am so sorry for the inconvenience…

~R.S.


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